County Delivery System Summary Report: Statewide Survey of Extension Personnel

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County Delivery System Summary Report Statewide
Survey of Extension Personnel

• Nick Fuhrman, Ph.D.
• Assistant Professor
• Agricultural Leadership, Education,
  Communication

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Our Sample (738 completed surveys)
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Our Sample

• NE District 148 (20.2)
• NW District 183 (25.0)
• SE District 150 (20.5)
• SW District 153 (20.9)
• State-level 98 (13.4)

Note On average, 129 people skipped the
demographic section.
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Our Sample
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Quantitative Results

• We should have at least one Agent in every
  county, regardless of program area.
• Open to another delivery model, other than
  county-based delivery?

0-5 years experience (n 257) 6-15 years experience (n 254)
42 absolutely agree 39 absolutely agree
0-5 years experience 6-15 years experience
49 open, 13 did not know 51 open, 13 did not know
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Quantitative Results

• Agents should have opportunities in multiple
  program areas.
• For some services, paraprofessionals are a viable
  alternative to a full-time Agent.

0-5 years experience 6-15 years experience
67 agree 67 agree
0-5 years experience 6-15 years experience
70 agree 80 agree
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The Role of Paraprofessionals

• In a county with no Agents, what
  services/programs could be done by a
  paraprofessional only?
• 4-H club meetings/in-school programs
• Submitting soil, water, and plant samples to lab
• Office duties (answering phones, copies, etc.)
• Publicizing programs (distributing pubs.)
• All canned programs w/ supervision

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Quantitative Results

• If your county Extension office had to be closed,
  would you be willing to work in another county?
• Should county offices consider alternative office
  hours to meet clientele needs?

0-5 years experience 6-15 years experience
62 yes, 8 no, 30 didnt know 61 yes, 12 no, 27 didnt know
0-5 years experience 6-15 years experience
49 yes, 32 no, 19 didnt know 52 yes, 29 no, 19 didnt know
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Importance to County Delivery
Extension Component Level of Importance
Producing written publications Important (57)
Facilitating one-on-one face-to-face education Important (80)
Facilitating group face-to-face education Important (85)
Using mass media (press, news, radio) for education Important (55)
Facilitating online education Moderately Important (46)
Designing/maintaining a website Moderately Important (42)
Using social media (facebook, twitter) for education Moderately Important (33)
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4-H Agents must engage in
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ANR Agents must engage in
12
FACS Agents must engage in
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Where to make cutbacks?

• Decrease number of meetings (and travel),
  implement more online
• Cluster/consolidate offices and programs
• Reduce printing and postal mail use

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What to protect at all costs?

1. Presence in every county (county offices)
2. 4-H programming
3. ANR Agents and programs

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Summary

• Personnel open to alternative delivery models and
  working in another county with alternative office
  hours
• Agents should serve multiple program areas
• Paraprofessionals are an important resource to
  consider and utilize
• Face-to-face education is more important over
  technology-facilitated education for clientele