Regular contact between county leaders and youth is important to the futures of both the youth and the county. Counties need responsible and informed citizens, as well as future elected officials and capable, creative staff. Youth need to know they have a future in their county and that county government leaders are willing to hear their voice. This workshop, held during the NCACC's 2012 Annual Conference, offered practical ideas and concrete steps for engaging youth in county government, including a session on engaging youth in citizenship through community and school partnerships.

1. Quality + Impact = POWER
Cabarrus County 4-H
Citizenship Focus

2. Planning and Preparation
• Conversations with Civics teachers and
county commissioner, attendance at
workshop
• Tenth grade Civics students have the
opportunity to actively learn about local
government through experiences

3. The Program
• Cabarrus 4-H Citizenship Focus
– Visit to Cabarrus County Governmental Center
• Panel discussion with elected officials
• Budget simulation activity
• Employee interviews

4. Target Audience & Skills
• Cabarrus County Civics classes
• Program designed to align with NC
Standard Course of Study objectives

5. Research Base
• Young people's intended civic and political
participation: Does education matter?
Lopes, Joana; Benton, Thomas; Cleaver, Elizabeth;
Journal of Youth Studies, Vol 12(1), Feb, 2009. pp. 1-
20.
• Building the evidence base for youth engagement:
Reflections on youth and democracy. Yohalem,
Nicole; Martin, Shanetta; Journal of Community
Psychology, Vol 35(6), Aug, 2007. Special issue:
Youth and democracy: Participation for personal,
relational, and collective well-being. pp. 807-810.

6. Goal
• Participation in Cabarrus 4-H
Citizenship Focus will bring meaning to
several Civics course objectives
through a ‘learn by doing’ opportunity
and produce engaged citizens.

7. Objectives
• Students will become more confident in
speaking with elected officials
• Students will learn what their civic
responsibilities are
• Students will encourage adults they know to
vote
• Students will talk about local government
issues with others

8. County Finance Manager leads
students in budget simulation

9. A group of students visit with the
Cabarrus County Parks Director

10. A student addresses the panel
of elected officials

11. Partners
• Cabarrus County Cooperative Extension
• Cabarrus County Government
• Cabarrus County Schools
• Kannapolis City Schools
• City of Concord
• City of Kannapolis

12. Partners, continued
• Town of Harrisburg
• Town of Mount Pleasant
• Cabarrus County Cooperative
Extension Youth Advisory Council

13. Resources
• NC Civic Education Consortium
• Rotary of Cabarrus County

14. Marketing
• Flyer for teachers
• NCACC
• NACo
• Newspaper
• Success stories

15. Evaluation
• Immediate evaluation
• Follow-up evaluation

16. Benefits of Program
• 2700 students served
• Majority of students report being more
confident in speaking with elected officials
• Nearly 90% of students better understand
their civic responsibilities
• Volunteer hours = $18,000
• More educated voters in county

17. Recognition

18. Key Points
• Communicate with teachers –
you need their buy-in
• Orient students
• Be organized and flexible

19. How do I replicate the
program?
Questions