“LATINOS IN THE NEW SOUTH” OVERVIEW SERA-37 (Southern Extension and Research Activities Group) of Southern Rural Development Center

BRIEF Overview of SERA-37 Activities to-date Multi-state conferences (2) Annual meetings Webinar series Individual members’ and states’ research Individual members’ and states’ outreach projects Community and institutional assessments Publications, meeting and conference presentations Multi-state “Latino Domestic Immersion Program” Cooperation with CambiodeColores program/conference

Current Plan of Work Objectives  Expand information exchange among land-grant representatives from the South re: Latino concerns, research, programming  Expand, and share, catalogue of research and Extension resources  Identify existing gaps in the research and/or Extension resources that focus on concerns of Latinos

Current Plan of Work Objectives  Create a network of persons available to facilitate new research and program that support community and civic understanding, inclusive of students and faculty beyond ‘traditional’ Extension program area  Disseminate a series of information briefs that profile the demographic, educational, social and economic changes associated with the regions changing demographics and Hispanic population  Design and sponsor staff development programs

Aspirations identified in Aug 2014 SERA-37 meeting (Birmingham, AL) Population outcomes, i.e.  Increased high school graduation rates among Hispanics  Increased higher education attainment  Improved child care/early childhood education opportunities  Increased entrepreneurship among  Improved health status among Hispanics  Improved trust between land grant institutions and Hispanic communities

Aspirations identified in Aug 2014 SERA-37 meeting Improved Institutional Capacity, i.e.  Increased Extension engagement with Hispanic communities across all program area of Extension  Collaboration with other institutions/organizations outside the land grant system, i.e. other universities, research and advocacy organizations, community development organizations such as “Welcoming America”, East Coast Migrant Head Start, Healthcare systems, etc.  Professional development, i.e. understanding of Latino and Hispanic cultures, self-improvement in cultural competency, familiarity of immigration system, better understanding of ‘realities’ of immigrant life, etc.  Increased numbers of Latino faculty and staff within Cooperative Extension

Aspirations identified in Aug 2014 SERA-37 meeting Improved institutional linkages, i.e.  A strong catalogue of relevant research  A strong catalogue of successful and emerging programming  Engagement of all southern states in SERA-37  A ‘go-to’ resource on-line catalogue  Replications of Domestic (and International) Immersion Programs  Linkages with relevant research and programming beyond the southern states

Research Needs - What (identified in Aug 2014 meeting)  Funding  Data, e.g. economic impact, demographic trends  Assessment of state needs to guide research directions  Comprehensive research review as groundwork  Identification of priority research areas, including more social science research  Cross state, cross-discipline, cross-institution research collaboration

Research Needs - Who  Involvement of Experiment Station Director  Support in locating grant opportunities  Multi-institutional cooperation  Collaboration between land grant and non-land grant faculty/researchers  Catalogue of current researchers in the south and/or focusing on the south  More interdisciplinary collaboration

Research – Current Assets  Published work of southern researchers, i.e. Juntos and ?????

Outreach Needs – What  Community assessment data  An array of different kinds of data  Intercultural competency training opportunities  Involvement of/partnership with Hispanic and Hispanic serving organizations  Communication avenues, i.e. Social media presence  Training programs for Latinos and Hispanic communities, i.e. leadership development  Multi-institutional efforts  Support from state administrators  Success stories (i.e. successful projects!)

Outreach Needs - Who  A Cooperative Extension workforce that reflects changing demographics  Culturally competent workforce  Community advocates as partners  Direct service providers as partners  Cooperation with Latin American consulates, i.e. Mexico, Guatemala, other Central American countries, Columbia

Outreach – Current Assets  SERA-37 Objectives  A few – but passionate - active SERA members  Some institutional support (depending on state)  Southern Rural Development Center  Growing realization of need for bilingual/bicultural staff

Professional Development Needs - What  Institutionalized intercultural training programs/opportunities for Coop. Ext. staff  More experiential immersion projects (domestic and international)  Interstate collaboration opportunities  Long term planning capacity building, i.e. to help plan for staff turnover

Professional Development Needs – Who  More in administrative positions  Extension personnel ‘willing’ to work with Hispanics  Links to/cooperation with local organizations that are trusted within the Latino community (ies)  Partnerships with Hispanic community role models  Engagement and advice from the southern states whose populations included significant Hispanic/Latino populations earlier

Professional Development – Current Assets  SERA-37  Access to Cultural Competency Training Program(s), i.e. Washington State’s “Navigating Difference”; Minnesota’s “_____” with Bennett, Hammer, Paige; N.C. program(s), Tri-State Diversity Conference  Handful of committed leaders  Work, experience starting in pockets and those faculty/staff can be mentors

On-going Challenges