Throughout the district, parents reported a positive change in their children, such as more frequent displays of respect, caring and trustworthiness, and volunteering to do more tasks around the house. Teachers report that youth showed an increased respect toward each other and a more positive attitude in school. Mr. Thomas bused in 120 students from a local school in order to demonstrate to County Extension Agents the rapport he establishes with the children as he teaches them character. In summation of his program, Mr. Thomas selects six participants from his audience who led the entire group in reviewing the six core ethical values of character development. At the conclusion of the character development training, County Extension Agents were planning to incorporate an expanded approach utilizing animals for the Texans Building Character program in 2000.
Program is an intervention program designed to work with first time juvenile offenders.
It is a joint project of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission. Nine South Plains counties participated in the 1999 SOCC program with approximately 837 educational contacts participating in the SOCC program in the South Plains District. Base Program Summary Over 33,549 clientele participated in 1,268 programs conducted by South Plains Extension agents in the Health and Wellness area. Most popular were programs concerning general nutrition, diabetes, cancer, nutritious snacks for youth, hearth disease, osteoporosis, food safety, wellness at the worksite, health screenings, Walk Across Texas, women's health issues, weight management, and personal hygiene. Approximately 11,811 participated in 391 programs on Strengthening Individuals and Families.