Extension Networks Benefit Families, Communities

Mackin, Jeanne, Human Ecology Forum

Electronic extension networks expand the link of the land-grant system to communities. Information about child care, organizational collaborations, family strengths, science and technology, and health can be accessed as easily as turning on a computer.

In a culture where young men are more liable to die of gun shot wounds than from all natural causes combined, where 26 percent of U.S. children live in single parent families, and where one million children below the age of 14 care for themselves during nonschool hours, it becomes increasingly clear that community support for children and their families is vital.

But what makes community support programs succeed? Why do some flounder and ultimately fail, while other programs successfully assist families, protect children, and teach their participants how to set and reach goals that enhance their lives and their communities?

In 1995 researchers and program specialists from three land-grant universities - Virginia Tech, Utah State University, and Cornell University - decided to explore that question, in a big way. Using new technology and resources, and support dollars from the Annie E. Casey Foundation through the National Network for Family Resiliency (NNFR) of the …

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Publication information: Article title: Extension Networks Benefit Families, Communities. Contributors: Mackin, Jeanne - Author. Journal title: Human Ecology Forum. Volume: 25. Issue: 4 Publication date: Fall 1997. Page number: 11+. © 1994 Cornell University, Human Ecology. COPYRIGHT 1997 Gale Group.

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