The SU Ag Center partners with USDA on mentoring program through the national 4-H club. The SU Ag Center received funding in the amount of $82,000 to implement the new 4-H National Mentoring Program. Three Center employees traveled to Chevy Chase, Maryland for a week-long training on the program funded by the National 4-H council, through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Tiffany Franklin, Principal Investigator, along with parent educators Delores Johnson and Stacey Nevills who will serve as Site Coordinators attended the training. The team will implement the 4-H LIFE (Living Interactive Family Education) program, which is a replication from the University of Missouri Extension. The program in Louisiana will be implemented in the prisons of East Baton Rouge and St. Landry Parishes.

The objective of the program is to afford incarcerated inmates the opportunity to spend quality time during supervised visits, utilizing the 4-H meeting model. The team from the University of Missouri has utilized this technique for approximately 10 years. During the visits, parents will practice new parenting skills, which are obtained during mandated monthly parenting sessions. One benefit of the 4-H LIFE program is to get children excited about meaningful visits through the 4-H experience, which will help build their communication and leadership skills while they see their incarcerated parents in a positive leadership role.

Another unique component of the 4-H LIFE program is the inclusion of caregivers and mentors. Caregivers often feel a great deal of stress, as they become the primary guardian of the children of the incarcerated parent. Now, these individuals have a support system with mentors and others who share a similar experience. More importantly, the caregivers will see their incarcerated parents interacting with their children in a positive manner through various healthy and structured activities.

"Hopefully, with this program, we can slow down the revolving door of youth getting involved in the justice system because parents are incarcerated", said Franklin.

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