Week 4

Tuesday

Resource Person: Nick Claussen
Institution: Athens Jobs and Family Services
Position: Community Relation Coordinator.

Type of Program:Provides County Homes, Family Services, Child Support, Age, blind, disabled services and health services, employment & education services.

Funding Source: Federal, State and County

Mission:As the employees of the Athens County Department of Job & Family Services,
we have been charged with the most serious and important responsibility in government, that of helping our fellow citizens who experience the despair of poverty, hunger, homelessness, and ill health. We believe that our programs represent the conscience of society and that our strength lies in seeking a decent life for all.

Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation:Planning are based on statistical data, monitoring are done by and the evaluation is done by information gathered by NHANES.

Role of Nutrition Professional:it is unfortunate there is no nutrition professional at AJFS, in the presence of a professional, people would have been educated on eating habits and how to get the most from the little food they have by proper combination of foods.

I have been fortunate to work for 10 hours at the Athens Jobs and Family Services (AJFS) Fall 2009. This was part of a requirement for Economics of Poverty, a course I took at the Economics Department. Some of the issues that were raised in class were not new to me as I took time to speak to some of the workers there. I helped two gentlemen employed by AJFS to move food around Athens County food shelters were these foods are distributed. This was done on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I also had the opportunity to hand food out to people on Tuesdays and Thursdays at AJFS.

I must admit the SNAP is doing a great job in serving the needy but the little time I spent at AJFS indicates that the number of people patronizing their services have increased drastically. I had the pleasure of talking to the Director of Administrative Services, Warren Haydon who confirmed it with some figures. Some people had to be referred other food distribution points.

I must admit that the absence of a dietician at AJFS is not pleasant but the staff of AJFS are faced with issues of how to get people fed. I do not think an empty stomach will be willing to hear talks about eating right when the fellow has nothing to eat at all.

I guess the resource person was not that informative as we all expected but I think we all know how it feels like to be in front people. I will suggest to our instructor to consider Warren Hyadon as a resource person for next year if the course will be mounted and Warren is still at AJFS.


Thursday

Resource Person: Rory Lewandowski
Institution: Ohio State University
Position: Ohio State University Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources.


Type of Program:Youth and Community Development, Agriculture/Natural Resources, Family Nutrition Program and Family Consumer Sciences

Funding Source: Federal, State and County

Mission:Ohio State University Extension helps people improve their lives through an educational process using scientific knowledge focused on identified issues and needs.

Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation:Depending on what issues that a community raises, a plan is drawn to tackle the issues, whilst the monitoring is done by the community and the extension officer and evaluation is done through interactions with community for them to express their views on what they think have changed since their interaction with extension officers. whether their confidence has increased since then.

Role of Nutrition Professional:Educating families on the importance of eating right and the activities that are to be undertaken to achieve it. Especially the dinning with diabetes program requires a nutrition professional for it to be successful.

I have never left class with some much unanswered questions like that of Thursday’s. First of all, the resource person was as prepared as our instructor and I must confess I was impressed. Now back to the subject matter, sometimes I cannot help it but compare my country with America since at the end of the day, I will go back home and share my fortunate experience with my countrymen. I have always had the notion that extension is all about agriculture. That is finding ways to educate only those involved in agricultural practices.

After listening to Rory talk about their involvement in family and consumer sciences, youth and community development, I could not help it but think throughout the lecture what my country is doing wrong and what will become of it if such activities are incorporated into our extension program. I am sorry to be boring you with my country’s problem but Thursday’s lecture kept me thinking. The extension program is doing a great job, especially with the youth programs as the future of America depends on the youth and it is my hope that the current economic situation will not have an effect on their funding. Certainly the policies that are put forward by the government will determine the efficiency of the Ohio University Extension.