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Hood River Demonstration Site

Key Program Outcomes

A summary of key program outcomes for the Hood River County Demonstration Site appears below. The outcomes relate to the central goal of the Oregon Outreach project and the specific educational goals and objectives developed to address local needs and capitalize on local assets. Reported outcomes reflect cumulative activities from October 1997 to September 2002.

Key Outcomes for Youth

• OOPS After School Program. About 125 youth were involved in the OOPS After School Program during a five-year period beginning in the fall of 1997, reflecting an annual participation rate of 20-30 youth. Evaluation data were collected from participating youth at the end of each school year. In a 2002 survey, for example, data were provided by 28 youth (93% of all participants and 100% of the core group). Results are summarized below.

  Participants reported substantial learning related to ten learning areas representing a composite of learning objectives across the Oregon Outreach sites. In the 2002 survey, for example, respondents reported "learning a lot" about respecting themselves and others (87%), working together as a team (76%), cooperating with others (76%), making good decisions (63%), accepting responsibility for their own actions (63%), communicating with others (62%), and serving their community (54%). Mean ratings for these seven items ranged from 3.3 to 3.8 on a 4-point scale where 1 = learned nothing and 4 = learned a lot. (Other choices were "a little" and "some".) Mean ratings for the final three items were 3.4 for managing anger and conflict, 3.0 for cultural heritage and traditions, and 2.3 for working with computers.

  Respondents also rated four goals in terms of each goal's personal importance to the individual responding. Having recreation and fun with friends was the top goal expressed by 96% of the respondents, but nearly 70% also said that learning skills they can apply in their future job or career was a "very important" goal for them. Learning skills that will help in school was "very important" to 60%. These three goals had the highest mean ratings, ranging from 3.6 to 3.9 (where 3 = somewhat important and 4 = very important. Lower priority goals were learning how to become more involved in the community (3.4) and developing cultural awareness and pride (3.1). Since these five goals relate to program objectives for the Oregon Outreach project in Hood River County, it is noteworthy that they appear to be congruent with goals that participants identify as personally important.

  Parents of participating youth were also interviewed (in 2000 and 2002) to provide perspectives on programming and suggest future program activities. All parents expressed enthusiastic support for the program, a desire for the program to continue, and hopes for other programs to help serve their children while the parents are away at work. Parents also commented that future program planning should reflect recognition of the economic and language restraints that make volunteering in an unfamiliar system difficult for them.

• OOPS Summer Day Camps. Day camps drew a total of nearly 150 youth from 1998-2002. In 2002, for example, 43 children in farm worker and low-income apartment complexes were involved. Objectives were to enhance social skills, develop a positive sense of self, and participate in recreational and teambuilding activities. One 50-hour day camp served 20 youth ages 9-13, while two 10-hour camps served multiple-aged groups of children from 5-15 years. High school and middle school students who formerly participated in the program assisted as teen leaders. Programs were well received and parents expressed interest in seeing more bilingual and bi-culturally focused activities available for their families.

  Seventeen youth (85% of the 20 core participants) responded to the participant feedback survey for the 2002 50-hour camp. A substantial majority of the respondents reported learning a lot about communicating with others (76%), working together as a team (65%), respecting yourself and others (59%), and making good decisions (also 59%). Nearly half (47%) indicated learning a lot about accepting responsibility for their actions, cooperating with others, working with computers, and serving their community. Mean ratings for these eight items ranged from 3.3 to 3.8 on a 4-point scale of learning where 1 = nothing, 2 = a little, 3 = some, and 4 = a lot. Mean ratings for the remaining two items were 3.1 for cultural heritage/traditions and 2.8 for managing anger and conflict. Results were similar to data collected in 2000 and 2001. (The youth involved in the day camps are different individuals than those involved in the after school program.)

• 4-H Clubs. Volunteer-led 4-H clubs for Latino youth became a part of the project in 2000 with the introduction of soccer activities involving about 100 youth. In both 2001 and 2002, more than 200 youth participated in soccer clubs along with about 10 Latino and native-English speaking adult volunteer leaders. The Indoor Soccer League and the 4-H Summer Soccer League are the only programs in the county that reaches a significant number of middle-school Latino youth on a continued basis. The programs offer recreational opportunities, teach teamwork, decision-making and other social skills, and provide positive interactive experiences for youth. Monolingual English as well as monolingual Spanish-speaking coaches have met, organized, and played collaboratively, providing a forum for youth and adults to interact cross-culturally while learning about differing concepts of time, decision making, organizational priorities, and rules of sport. In 2002, 66 non-Latino(s) youth were among those registered in 4-H Soccer Clubs, demonstrating a trend toward more integration of CYFAR participants with other community youth.
  
  Additional 4-H clubs were established in 2001. By 2002 these included three Folkloric 4-H Dance Clubs, one in each of the three rural towns in the county, with Latino volunteer leaders, teen leaders, and parent helpers providing support for more than 40 youth.

Key Outcomes for Families

• About 120 Latino parents (and some children) participated in bilingual Computer Literacy and Technology Programs offered in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Evaluation data were collected each year. In 2001, midterm/post tests were completed by 26 (79%) participants. About 95% of the respondents indicated they had learned new information-84% reported gaining basic computer skills, while 15% said they gained Internet skills. Although only 16% said they currently owned a computer, 44% reported at the end of the program that they were considering a computer purchase. Several participants commented that the sessions were "very important" for Hispanics and others with little or no computer experience. Many expressed gratitude for the program in comments similar to one participant who said, "Thank you so much for the opportunity you gave us to learn and have success." (Overall results were similar for other years.)

Key Outcomes for the Community

• The Hood River Community Forum featured a cross-cultural workshop facilitated by Carmen DeNeve from the University of Southern California, assisted by the local Oregon Outreach project director. Attending the 2001 workshop were 18 participants from OSU Extension, the Hood River County Commission, the Hood River County Commission on Children and Families, Mid-Columbia Centro Cultural, and The Next Door, Inc. About half of the participants were Latino and about half were Anglo. In an end-of-session evaluation form, participants supplied answers to open-ended questions relating to the usefulness of the workshop information, how they planned to apply some of the workshop ideas and concepts, and suggestions and recommendations for future offerings. An item asking participants to rate the overall effectiveness of the workshop on a scale of 1-5 (1 = unsatisfactory and 5 = very satisfactory), the mean rating was 4.8. Participant feedback also indicated the workshop was an important step in enhancing individuals' cross-cultural understanding.

• In the initial years of the project, staff members collaborated with other community groups to offer a Cultural Sensitivity Workshop for members of the community and two Board Member Training Workshops focusing on cultural values and how Latinos might become involved with community groups and boards. In addition, project staff helped to establish a coalition encouraging increasing involvement of Latinos in the greater Hood River County community.