New this year! I’m really excited about this opportunity to help youth have a great experience as a 4-H member.
4-H welcomes and encourages youth with special needs to participate in our programs and will make reasonable accommodations for these youth. The Winning 4-H Plan enables youth to tailor the 4-H experience to their needs and helps maintain a positive relationship between the youth’s family, county 4-H professionals, club volunteers and judges.
Youth must submit a Winning 4-H Plan Request Form to the Extension Office by March 15 at 4:30 p.m. I will review each request and contact families with questions as needed. In some cases, I may ask families to meet with me so I can gain a better understanding. Requests for accommodations are considered on a case-by-case basis. In the request, it is helpful if parents can share what accommodations are made in school or at home to help the child be successful. It is my goal to think about how we can adapt our current learning experiences to allow these members to participate in the same activities as other youth.
I will complete a Winning 4-H Plan Accommodation Form and send the completed document to the family to be stapled in the front cover of a youth’s project book(s). The information will also be shared with the club’s organizational volunteer so they can help the family have a good experience. When a member attends a judging event with a paper judging sheet, there is a place in the top corner to mark if the youth has a Winning 4-H Plan – that way, the judge will know to look for the Accomodation Form in the member’s book. I will share appropriate information with judges and volunteers to help facilitate the youth’s judging experience at Still Project Judging, Skillathon and Fair.
In the future, families will have the opportunity to update information annually.
Please feel free to let me know if you have questions.
Download the Winning 4-H Plan Request.