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Program Management
County Extension Councils
Policy Number: C.E.S.P. 3-9
Date Revised: 1-12-2004
Supersedes: 4-23-2001 |
Summary: Establishes a structure for organizing County
Extension Councils and the primary lay leader program advising unit.
Organizational Structure
The County Extension Council works with County Extension
Agents to plan, implement, evaluate, interpret and support the local
educational program. The effectiveness of a county's Extension program
depends on involvement of local citizens in program development.
The basic units of the County Extension Council are:
• County Extension Council Members
• Program Committees
The County Extension Council gives leadership,
direction, coordination, and support to the cooperative Extension
program. The Council members serve as advocates for the cooperative
Extension program and assist in making decisions to guide the direction
of Extension programming in the county.
Council Structure
The structure for the County Extension Council is
comprised of a core group of leaders who serve in a coordinating and
leadership role. In addition to the Council, program committees are
appointed to address specific program areas or issues.
The County Extension Council membership entails
representation of various economic, geographic and social interests as
well as relevant county organizations. Within this structure are
officers, other key leaders, and chairpersons of all program committees.
County Extension staff and county judge will be represented on the
Council in an ex-officio capacity without voting privileges.
The recommended size of the County Extension Council
will be 9 to 12 members, depending on the population and complexity of
county concerns. The County Judge and county Extension faculty will work
together to achieve a membership that is consistent with geographic area
representation, minority representation and leadership representative of
county needs. County representation and priorities may require a larger
council membership than twelve members. In this situation, your District
Director will work with you to determine a Council size consistent with
your needs. Size will be an important factor as you work with this group
throughout the year.
Selections and Rotation of Membership
One-third of the membership will be nominated by the
county judge and the remaining two-thirds will be appointed by the
county Extension faculty. Members will serve a three-year term with
one-third of the membership rotating off each year. Appointment of new
members will be determined by whomever made the appointment or
nomination of the retiring member. Uncompleted terms should be filled in
the same manner.
Council members will be appointed for a term of three
years according to the process described in member selection. Terms will
be staggered with one-third of the membership rotating off each year.
Terms will begin on July 1 of the year appointed. A member can be
reappointed for one term after being off the committee one year.
Elections and Appointments
The chair, vice chair and other officers deemed
necessary will be elected annually by the council members. A county
Extension faculty member will serve as secretary for the Council. The
secretary will be responsible for all correspondence and records of the
Council.
Program/Issue committee chairs and vice chairs will be
appointed by the Council chairs. A chair and vice chair for each
priority program selected by the Council will be appointed from the
Council membership. If several priorities are selected, vice chairs may
be appointed outside the Council chairs as needed. These will be used to
address short-term activities or one-time events of special interest.
The remaining member appointments will be made in collaboration with the
appropriate Extension faculty member. Terms will be determined by
program thrusts.
The membership of committees should reflect appropriate
geographic, organizational and population diversity to insure active
participation from all areas of interests. Reflection of population
diversity should consider gender, age, racial-ethnic population
segments, and socioeconomic levels. All appointments should meet the
Affirmative Action guidelines.
The 4-H Youth Development Committee will serve as the
program committee for the youth component of the Cooperative Extension
Service program. The chair and vice-chair of this group will be
appointed from the Council. The youth development committee will serve
as the 4-H Expansion and Review committee. The current policies and
procedures for this committee will still be in effect. One third of the
membership of this group will be youth. In addition to Expansion and
Review, this committee will have program development responsibilities.
Ad Hoc committees may be appointed for short term
programs or one time events. These groups are subcommittees of a program
committee and will be represented on the Council by the program
committee chair.
Attendance
This Council is responsible for an important part of the Cooperative
Extension Service program and as a whole body, meets at least once per
year. To be an effective member of the Council, attendance at meetings
is important. It may be necessary to miss a meeting due to conflicts;
however, regular attendance is encouraged. The Council should determine
a policy that is acceptable for absenteeism.
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