The purpose of the study was to (1) identify major historical antecedents of urban 4-H and youth programs by the Cooperative Extension Service, (2) describe the evolution of urban 4-H and youth programs in Indiana, (3) illustrate the emergence of 4--H and youth programs in Indiana cities from 1968-1977, (4) investigate and clarify the perceived contemporary role of Extension Agents-Youth, and (5) identify leadership training needs as well as provide information to staff of Cooperative Extension that should assist in training agents corking in urban regions.The population for the study included all Extension AgentsYouth, Extension Boards, and Administrators from Lake, Marion and Vigo Counties that are currently active. The population also included the administrative staff of the Cooperative Extension Service from the State Office. The above counties were selected because of their highly urbanized populations and the program efforts that were initiated in the three counties.For the purpose of this study, the Director of Cooperative Extension Service in Indiana, Dr. Howard Diesslin, provided the approval to work with the three county staffs and administration. An additional Extension Staff was utilized fran Madison County to field test the questionnaire for clarity and relevance.The director of the Indiana Cooperative Extension Service granted approval for the questionnaire to be mailed under Extension mailing priviliges. The Associate Director, Dr. Paul Crooks, scrutinized the language of the instrument to determine whether the franking privilege available to Cooperative Extension Service could be used. Fifteen doctoral candidates and one professor of Educational Administration further critiqued the instrument for clarity, language and style.The questionnaire was mailed or handed to 75 Extension persons from Lake, Marion and Vigo Counties. Fifty-seven questionnaires were returned and 56 were usable. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed, summarized and presented in narrative form. A frequency distribution was utilized for reporting numbers and percentages for each item in the sections relating to program, program responsibility, skills and training.The findings and conclusions of the study support the following recommendations:1. The Extension Service should improve communications with urban audiences through the efforts of Extension professionals, including youth agents, by effective means such as public meetings, media and wholesome programs.2. Program responsibilities should be clarified to increase effectiveness and accountability of Extension Agents-Youth.3. Goals and purposes of programs should receive a high level of agreement among regional staff.4. Professional Extension Agents-Youth employed to work in urban regions should have strong educational preparation in behavioral and social sciences.5. Agents working in urban regions should become familiar and work with other agencies to enhance efforts for meeting the needs of all people of the region.6. Agents in urban regions should have some knowledge in agriculture and related fields.7. A study should be made to determine whether training needsof personnel are being met. If not, immediate efforts should be directed toward such a goal.8. A follow-up study should be conducted to determine the kinds of training opportunities being pursued by the national staff and the state staff.9. A follow-up study should be conducted to compare attitudes of Extension personnel from different urban regions.10. Methods and techniques need to be developed to improve communications between administrators, Extension agents and board members.

The purpose of the study was to analyze the impact on 4-H policy council members, extension professionals and 4-H adult leaders regarding the incorporation of a 4-H urban program into the traditional 4-H program. The study was designed to provide data for Cooperative Extension Service personnel concerning the impact of changes in attitudes toward policy and administration of a-H programs, as well as develop ways and means for the integration of an urban 4-H program into the traditional. 4-H program. The documentation produced by the study offered new base line information and will enhance efforts by Extension Administrators in determining resources, training and programmatic needs of an urban 4-H program.The following assumptions were made relative to the study:1. Millions of boys and girls throughout the United States have been helped through 4-H.2. Leadership skills and abilities, as well as interpersonal communication skills, have been developed by 4-H members.3. The Indiana 4-H program is a proven creditable program.4. A vast number of urban boys and girls have been omitted from the 4-H program in Indiana.5. Two distinct and definable 4-H program styles currently exist in Indiana--one rural and one urban. 6. Variations created by long histories of traditions woven into the ongoing 4-H program cannot feasibly be controlled in the research setting and will be assumed to be equivalent for each sample population. The following research questions were attendant to the study:1. How have the attitudes of 4-H policy council members, extension professionals and 4-H adult leaders in the three selected Indiana counties been affected?2. How will/should the Indiana Cooperative Extension Service policy be affected?3. How will/should the Indiana Cooperative Extension Service Administration be affected?The potential population for the study was defined as all 4-H policy council members, 4-H adult leaders and extension professionals (Youth Department, County Extension Coordinator, and Area Administrator) in three selected Indiana counties (Lake, Marion and Vigo). The population also included the State Director, the Associate Directors, and the entire 4-H State Staff. The study population was a stratified random policy council members and 4-H adult leaders resultingFrom sample. One-third of the potential population, 414 individuals, were asked to complete and return questionnaires.A review of related research and literature was conducted and revealed limited research efforts have been devoted to the impact on attitudes of extension professionals, 4-H the incorporation of an urban 4-H program into the traditional 4-H program. The first section of Chapter II included selected information on attitude change, cognitive models of attitude change and problems for research related to changing attitudes. The second section was devoted to studies relative to organizational change in the Cooperative Extension Service; incorporation infers growth and growth will cause change. The third section dealt with management and leadership behavior of extension professionals.Data for the study were obtained from six sources:(1) federal and state Extension Management Information System; (2) yearly 4-H summaries; (3) 1970 U.S. Census Records; (4) State 4-H Department records; (5) County 4-H Department records; and (6) a survey instrument administered to 4-H policy council members, 4-H adult leaders and extension professionals. The questionnaires consisted of thirty statements divided equally into three areas--policy, personnel and program relative to the Indiana 4-H program. Validation of the survey instrument was implemented and completed through appropriate field testing in a county in Indiana not selected for the study.The data were analyzed using a frequency of distribution for each group of the study population--4-H policy council members, 4-H adult leaders, and extension professionals in each of the three selected counties, as well as the three councils, leader groups and extension professionals. A frequency distribution was also developed for the total population sample of the study. Data obtained from the questionnaires were summarized and presented in narrative form. Tables were developed to report raw data.The respondents were in general agreement with six statements, and predominantly in disagreement with one statement. The statements in the survey instrument were divided into three sections: policy 1-10, personnel 11-20 and program 21-30. Eighty-five percent of the respondents agreed with the policy statements, 80 percent of the respondents agreed with the personnel statements and 84 percent of the respondents agreed with the program statements.

The purpose of the study was to (1) determine the number of handicapped children being served by 4-H programs of the Indiana Cooperative Extension Service, (2) describe the organization and the presentation of the programs, and (3) develop a model for evaluating the impact a 4-H program for handicapped children has on the administration of the total 4-H program being offered in the county. For purposes of the study, the term handicapped referred to children that were emotionally disturbed, learning disabled, mentally retarded, and/or physically handicapped.The population for the study included all Extension Agents-Youth of the Indiana Cooperative Extension Service in each of the 92 Indiana counties. Where more than one Extension Agent-Youth was employed in a county, only one response was requested as the needed information concerned the total county 4-H program being offered.A questionnaire, developed from a review of selected literature, was used as the method to gather data from the study group. The survey instrument was submitted to a group of 20 doctoral students and three professors of Educational Administration and Supervision for recommendations, subsequently revised and mailed to the study population.Counties where 4-H programs for handicapped children have been developed were identified. Extension Agents-Youth working the counties where 4-H programs for handicapped children existed were asked questions regarding (1) the number of handicapped children being served in the county, (2) how the 4-H programs for handicapped children were organized and presented, and (3) the percent of impact the development of a 4-H program for handicapped children had on the total county 4-H program in the specific areas of (a) personnel and staffing, (b) facilities, (c) materials and supplies, (d) finance, (e) time allocation and (f) the overall expenditure of the program. In addition, Extension AgentsYouth were asked questions regarding specific perceptions of the 4-H program for handicapped children in relation to the total 4-H program being offered in the county.Data received from the questionnaire were compiled and used to provide an account of the involvement of handicapped children in 4-H programs in Indiana. Responses from the different Extension Agents-Youth in the 92 counties where 4-H programs for handicapped children existed were analyzed, summarized, and reported in table and narrative form.The findings and conclusions of the study support the following recommendations:1. Additional research in the study of increased 4-H programming for handicapped children is greatly needed.2. Formal programs and in-service training designed to provide proper and adequate training for leaders of 4-H programs for handicapped children should be increased.3. Extension Agents-Youth and leaders of 4-H programs for handicapped children should become more familiar with current laws affecting educational programming for handicapped children. 4. Additional guidelines for organizing, developing, and implementing 4-H programs for handicapped children should be considered by Extension personnel. 5. Documentation regarding the number of handicapped children participating in 4-H programs should be more thoroughly recorded by Extension personnel and reported to the State Extension Office. 6. Since the life blood of 4-H programs for the handicapped is the volunteer leader, efforts should be increased to recruit highly motivated, sincere individuals with a keen interest in working with special children.7. A task force of representatives of special educators and Extension Agents- Youth should be established to explore the need for possible programs.

More and more developmentally disabled adults who in the past were institutionalized are now being returned or kept in their communities. Often there are few appropriate alternatives in education to handle their needs. This thesis examines an alternative that has great promise asan appropriate approach to the learning needs of the developmentally disabled adult.Using 4-H concepts as a lifelong education alternative, Elkhart County has demonstrated the success of an informal and flexible educational program that can be offered for as long as the developmentally disabled adult wishes.As a pilot program for the past four years, 4-H has continued to grow in areas of enrollment, projects selected, community awareness, personal growth, state and national interest.This paper takes into account the problems, successes, leadership requirements, materials adaptations, and career development of both youth and adults.Much work remains to be done in the area of lifelong educational alternatives for the developmentally disabled adult so that each person continues to grow through his/her life. The recommendations given in the final chapter suggest avenues leading to this end.