NATIONAL YOUTH PREPAREDNESS INITIATIVE: PREPARING TEENS; PREPARING COMMUNITIES, AN EIGHT STATE PILOT PROGRAM

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1010538
• Grant No.: 2016-41210-25878
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $180,072.00
• Proposal No.: 2016-07520
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2016
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2018
• Grant Year: 2016
• Program Code: [MB]- ESNP Special Needs

Recipient Organization
MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIV
(N/A)
MISSISSIPPI STATE,MS 39762

Performing Department
School of Human Sciences

Non Technical Summary
Project SummaryFaced with declining financial resources, agencies focused on emergency preparedness must forge strategic partnerships that maximize impact on individual, family, and community preparedness. Land-grant universities and their extension services are prime agents for change and can provide resources, networks, and outreach, dramatically impacting community preparedness, by engaging, enabling, and empowering a largely underutilized target group --- youth. The Mississippi Youth Preparedness Initiative(MyPI) has an innovative outreach model, emphasizing service and leadership by teenagers, who are led through a comprehensive preparedness campaign by trained instructors. The model includes delivery of the certified Teen CERT curriculum; specialized technology tracks, career exploration, smoke alarm awareness, CPR/AED certification, disaster simulation participation; and a capstone leadership project, in which every student assists seven families in developing emergency supply kits and communication plans.For its innovation and success, MyPI has the following distinctions:2014 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Award winner for "Outstanding Youth Preparedness" and Honorable Mention for "Preparing the Whole Community".Dr. C. Ryan Akers, coordinator and national pilot PI, was named a White House "Champion of Change".Recognized Affirmer of the National Strategy for Youth Preparedness Education, meeting all nine of its strategic priority steps.To support the proposed two year (9/1/2016 - 8/31/2018) pilot, "National Youth Preparedness Initiative: Preparing Teens; Preparing Communities, an Eight State Pilot Program", we request $180,072 to replicate MyPI's success within Nebraska, Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Texas, Mississippi, and one state to be determined (indicated by "Placeholder A" within the proposal). Funding will enable these states to deliver the program to 1,000 students, directly impacting 7,000 households, while producing positive impact on civic responsibility, community service, youth leadership, family cohesion, among others, and most importantly, individual, family, and community preparedness and resilience. Success will be documented and partnerships developed to sustain each respective state's program for years to follow.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
807	6099	3020	50%
807	6020	3020	15%
806	6050	3020	35%

Knowledge Area
807 - Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery; 806 - Youth Development;

Subject Of Investigation
6020 - The family and its members; 6099 - People and communities, general/other; 6050 - Communities, areas, and regions;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;

Keywords

civic responsibility

community resilience

emergency management

youth preparedness

Goals / Objectives
Problem Statement and Project GoalsFor a variety of unfortunate reasons, children and youth are a remarkably overlooked population group when it comes to engagement in emergency preparedness education (Ronan and Johnston, 2001b). This runs counterproductive to effective individual, family, and community preparedness and resilience. In an era seemingly defined by an increasing number of natural disasters and emergency scenarios and capitalized by the sheer strength and destruction of many of these events, society must absolutely provide plentiful opportunities to directly engage children and youth in the preparedness discussion. Unfortunately, these programs are rare and not consistently offered across the country.Our youth population is particularly vulnerable to hazards, emergencies, and disasters. Comprising over 25% of the population of the United States, approximately 66.5 million children are adversely impacted by a disaster each year (National Commission on Children and Disasters, 2009b; U.S. Census Bureau, 2004; Penrose and Takaki, 2006). That is a staggering statistic when one factors in the rising number of disasters and those living in poverty. Approximately 14.1 million children in the United States live below the poverty line. Barriers to youth preparedness education for children living in poverty are quite numerous (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2009). The problem is that despite these trends and gaps, there is little national focus on youth and children when it comes to involvement in disaster preparedness education. Even smaller is the number of truly engaging and comprehensive disaster preparedness education programs for youth across the country. Seeking to provide a remedy for this problem and to increase awareness, leadership, civic responsibility, community service, teamwork, family communication and cohesion, among other concepts, and to enhance individual, family, and community preparedness and resilience, the associated proposal, "National Youth Preparedness Initiative: Preparing Teens; Preparing Communities, an Eight State Pilot Program" seeks to capitalize on the resounding success and positive impact created from an innovative and comprehensive youth preparedness education model in Mississippi and set the new standard for youth preparedness outreach throughout the United States.Program Area Alignment: Specifically, this project will improve regional/national stakeholder partnerships across traditional boundaries to decrease the impact of disasters through extension education.Overall Project Goal: To develop sustainable youth preparedness programs in each partner state through a comprehensive and engaging, three-pronged outreach model and to produce a viable option for a new standard for national youth preparedness outreach through Extension education.

Project Methods
Upon receiving award, the National CoordinatingTeam (NCT)will immediately begin communicating with Points of Contact (POCs) within the seven additional states listed in the proposal (Nebraska, Louisiana, Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, and "Placeholder A"). "Placeholder A" is used in place of a partnering state that pulled out of the proposal at the last hour due to potential time conflicts. While we have a list of states on standby, the PI did not feel professionally comfortable requesting a letter of support and commitment within a small time window. The PI will add the first alternate after the award notification. Of note, if a state has subsequently decided to decline participation, the NCT has a list of states on standby.The NCT PI will begin logistics planning with the state POCs to identify 5 counties in each state, along with at least 2 Extension personnel in each of those counties, and to schedule each of the Instructor Training and Certification (T&C) Workshops (1 per state). These workshops will require 3 full days as opposed to MyPI's 2 day workshop due to added time necessary for explanation of evaluation protocols and website development, hosting, and use. Once the workshops are scheduled, the NCT will work with the state POCs to finalize remaining logistical matters for each training. Five members of NCT (PI, 2 CERT Instructors, 1 Evaluation Specialist and the Technology Outreach Specialist) will then travel to each state's preferred training location with all necessary training materials and resources needed to deliver the workshop. This is an extensive 36 hour training workshop held over three days. Due to the time needed, in Mississippi, it is customary to provide working lunch and working dinner along with small snacks, as the workshop begins at 9:00 am and concludes at 9:00 pm each day. During working lunches, we designate time to explore Frequently Asked Questions and Lessons Learned from instructors. During working dinners, we review CERT content and discuss required paperwork, including calendar drafting, reporting system review, waivers, etc.During the workshop, all Instructors will be taken through delivery of Teen CERT where they will demonstrate their understanding of the curriculum, and their ability to perform and assess skills and to teach portions of the material. Teen CERT includes the following modules: Disaster Preparedness, Fire Safety and Utility Control, Disaster Medical Operations I and II, Light Search and Rescue, CERT Organization, Disaster Psychology, and Terrorism and CERT, along with all specific hazard annexes. The Add-On Catalog along with its prepackaged presentations and guest speaker opportunities will be discussed in detail. Finally, every aspect of the capstone leadership project for the teens, PREP + 6, will be discussed in detail. Instructors will also be made aware of the additional logistical components of the national model as well as how to incorporate or build relationships with the local and state response community. Promotion of program and recruitment of students are also two critical components of the workshop.Computer Support and Technology OutreachAs part of the proposal for the national project, a portion of the funding is allocated for the development, hosting, and maintenance of a dedicated, multi-functional and uniform website for each state's youth preparedness program, similar to Mississippi's website, http://mypi.msstate.edu. Once the two year project timeline ends, the hosting and maintenance of the websites will transfer their respective states. The website will partner with social media outlets to serve as a primary marketing tool for potential students, parents, instructors, and community leaders. The website also houses the resource library with all documents, presentations, videos, and required paperwork necessary for National program delivery. Also included within the website is the password protected Course Progress Submission form for instructors and the online learning community via a dedicated message board. At the training, the Technology Outreach Specialist will unveil and discuss each state's website, including the resource library, videos, the reporting system, and the online learning forum.Project Outcomes and Evaluation MeasuresSimilarly, the Evaluation Specialists will detail the pre and post-test for knowledge comprehension and retention as well as the additional assessment components of the program that allow the NCT to track and document each state's impact. This information will be used to gain support and resources for each state's program after the NIFA Smith Lever Special Needs funding period has expired. Each state will have a two year track record of success within the proposed formula on which to document.Please see Outcomes Tab for specifics regarding the project outcomes for this national pilot project.?The evaluation package created for the National program adheres to a three-pronged approach and includes the following:Pre- and post-test assessment for knowledge retention related to Teen CERT;Assessment of individual, family, and community impact on disaster preparedness as it relates to the number of program graduates and the total number of emergency supply kits and family communication plans completed;Assessment of pre- and post-test youth outcomes including the ability to make positive choices and communication; community connectedness and awareness; and engagement; as well as family problem solving, communication, and cohesion.Post Instructor T&C WorkshopAfter the workshop, the NCT PI will work with each state POC and/or each designated county Lead Instructor to develop course calendars, review required documents, and answer all questions regarding content delivery and progress reports. Every planning aspect that leads to successful execution of program delivery will be discussed. Student training materials, including stocked CERT backpacks, manuals, binders, notepads, pens, etc. will all be purchased and shipped to the NCT PI. The NCT PI will ensure that each county instruction team in every state is properly equipped to provide the training successfully. Over the life of the program, the NCT will monitor each state's progress through the class reporting system, contribute to the online learning forum, and maintain communication with the State POCs and/or respective county Lead Instructors. The NCT will also be responsible for each state's program branding, production of graduate diplomas, promotion of the national model and each state's individual program, website development, web hosting and maintenance, and collecting paperwork and evaluation data.

Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/18

Outputs
Target Audience:The Target Audience and numbers for the project remained consistent with what was listed in the initial proposal, project initiation form, and progress report. While this project focuses on youth (specifically teens) in the five counties selected among the eight partnering states (Mississippi, New Jersey, Tennessee, Nebraska, Illinois, Virginia, Hawaii, and Washington), the project's wide-reaching nature also involves instructors, parents/guardians, communities, and those families/households that become a part of each student's leadership/service project. Louisiana had to be replaced in Phase 1 due to limited staffing issues that would have negatively impacted their ability to bring in the necessary number of instructors. They were replaced with New Jersey. Additionally, due to delays in submitting required paperwork and partnership agreements, Texas was replaced in Phase 1 with Hawaii. "Placeholder A" was created and listed in the original proposal when a state initially indicated the ability to commit to the time required for the project, but pulled out right before the the proposal deadline for submission. Placeholder A was the Pacific Northwest state of Oregon. Oregon was replaced in Phase 1 with the adjacent Pacific Northwest state of Washington. We actually trained over the anticipated number of instructors. 127 instructors were trained in the 8 participating partners of Phase 1. Comprehensive Instructor Certification and Training Workshops were conducted in each of the partner states. 1,000 students (125 per state) were enrolled in the Phase 1 pilot. To graduate, each student must complete the entire comprehensive program including the capstone leadership/service project, PREP+6. In this project, each student worked with seven total households. Work resulting from PREP+6 produces a substantial and exponential impact on individual, family, and community preparedness along with enhanced youth leadership characteristics, communication, teamwork skills, civic responsibility, family cohesion, and decision-making, etc. The framework for delivery is firmly in place and Phase 1 programs continue to deliver this new standard program within their catalog of outreach programs in each state. Changes/Problems:There were no major problems or changes to the project as proposed. The only changes to the project were noted in the Target Audience tab and they were minor and approved. Placeholder A originally represented to the Pacific Northwest state of Oregon. They initially committed to the project and pulled out right before the deadline for submission. Fortunately, I had a list of states waiting to join the project in case something like that were to happen. We were able to bring in the Pacific Northwest state of Washington in to replace them in Phase 1. Additionally, two originally committed states (Louisiana and Texas) both had circumstances which prevented them from participating in Phase 1. Louisiana was dealing with a staffing issue and did not believe they could provide the needed instructors. Fortunately, New Jersey was waiting to join the project in Phase 1. In terms of comparable disasters, hazards, and risks, we replaced Louisiana which faces hurricanes and flooding issues, with New Jersey, another state that faces the same threats and hazards. Texas had difficulty collecting the necessary paperwork and partnership agreeements to continue in Phase 1. Texas was replaced with Hawaii, which deals with a hose of different types of threats. Numbers of instructors and numbers of students remained consistent despite the minor changes in partnered programs. Within the program deliveries, we had consistent threats to deliver with severe storms in Tennessee, Virginia, Nebraska, and Mississippi. We dealt with historic flooding and volcano eruptions in Hawaii. We lost a treasured instructor to a heart attack in Nebraska and have since named a national award to be given annually in his memory. New Jersey presented some challenges along the way with the territorial nature of CERT within the state. That situation was unique. Unfortunately, theProgram Manager was not very effective at building and fostering relationships internally and externally and fell below the standard for what we expect in our program managers. Subsequently, those qualities (or lack thereof) were consistent in other job performances and that person was not retained. I continue to work with MyPI New Jersey (and all other Phase 1 Program Managers) to help push their programs forward. All programs report paths moving forward with this now three-time, national award winning program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?MyPI National completed all eight Instructor Certification and Training Workshops (ICTWs) and a couple of the individual programs have already held additional ICTWs to grow their instructor cohort for program expansion. Participation, buy-in, and advocacy was overhwlmingly positive in the Phase 1 pilot and has subsequently grown in the Phase 2 Expansion. In these ICTWs, MyPI National offers essentially a CERT Train the Trainer and a MyPI Train the Trainer, so the instructors understand both the context of the program and how to deliver it successfully. Because of the networks and links built with the state/local emergency management communities, many individual programs and their instructors are able to obtain additional training and are provided with opportunities for professional development and program marketing opportunities. In most cases in Phase 1, the links between the State Program Managers and these representatives from the emergency management communites have enabledMyPI Instructors to lead CERT trainings and our course, our process certifies these instructors to lead MyPI deliveries. Across all ICTWs, we had local, state, and federal emergency management representation that would stop in, introduce themselves, learn more about MyPI, and offer their support to the instructors. This networking and relationship building, in addition to program data, will do doubt lead to additional opportunities as these programs take shape for long-term success. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The MyPI National Evaluation team is responsible for providing individual Program Managers with a snapshot and summary of evaluation data for their particular programs. Additionally, all Program Managers were provided with access and tutorials to pull their own evaluation data and have assistance from project evaluators to interpret the data if needed while within the federal funding/project timeframe. Evaluation data indicates that the MyPI model enhances individual, family, and community preparedness as well as enhances youth leadership/youth development characteristics, including civic engagement, decision-making, communication, self-esteen, and also family cohesion and decision-making. Individual program data and how it compares to the larger National data pool is made available toProgram Managers. The data has also been utilized to continue program promotion at a variety of local, state, and national conferences. The raw nationaldata remains available from MyPI National. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? With the overall Project Goal of developing sustainable youth preparedness programs in each partner state through a comprehensive and engaging, three-pronged outreach model and to produce a vialble option for a new standard for national youth preparedness outreach through Extension education, MyPI National met its goals for the Phase 1 Pilot stage of the program. All Phase 1 programs are properly positionedfor future success and fundamental impact in individual, family, and community preparedness, along with youth leadership and youth development characteristics. Programs have either started or will soon begin subsequent delivieries outside of the federal funding. During the funding period, MyPI (already with one FEMA National award in 2014) added two national awards, the 2017 FEMA ICPD National Award for Outstanding Achievement in Youth Preparedness, and the 2018 National CERT Award for Preparing the Whole Community. The program has strengthened partnerships with NIFA and FEMA moving forward and has brokered additional partnerships with key represention at the state and local levels in partnered states. While administration of the programs have shifted to the states, MyPI National maintains a working relationship with Program Managers of Phase 1 in order for these programs to continue to become part of the fabric of the preparedness strategies in these states. Comprehensive state-level websites and social media accounts continue to be updated, but ownership has transferred to the individual programs. Momentum for MyPI National is at all all-time high. We've been featured in international magazines, at a wide range of state and national conferences, FEMA podcasts, etc. and the program received funding for a Phase 2 and Phase 3 expansion of the program. Currently, a Phase 4 Expansion plan is being reviewed and a queue of new partnered programs exists. The program continues to develop the new standard for how we develop youth (teens) in this country and is making great strides in that direction...with Extension educators, specialists, administrators, and other personnel providing leadership and partnering with emergency management andfirst respondercommunities, school officials, community partners, etc.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Akers, C. R., and Nichols, D. (2016, October). Developing Mississippi's Multi-Tiered Youth Preparedness Continuum: Analyzing Need, Innovative Programs, Collaboration, and Regional/National Applicability. Program presented at the Extension Disaster Education Network Annual Conference in Ithaca, NY.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Akers, C. R. (2017). (2017, February). MSU Extensions Multi-Tiered Youth Preparedness Program. Program presented at the Mississippi 4-H Volunteers Associations annual conference in Starkville, MS.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Akers, C. R., and Nichols, D. (2017, March). The Mississippi Youth Preparedness Initiative and Ready in the Middle: Fostering Preparedness, Civic Responsibility, and Empowerment. Program presented at the Mississippi Municipal Leagues annual Youth Leadership Summit in Cleveland, MS.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Akers, C. R., and Nichols, D. (2017, May). The Mississippi Youth Preparedness Initiative (MyPI): Fostering Preparedness, Civic Responsibility, and Empowerment. Program presented at the Mississippi Partners in Preparedness Summit in Biloxi, MS.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Akers, C. R. (2017, July). The Mississippi Youth Preparedness Initiative and MyPI National. Panel discussion at FEMAs National Youth Preparedness Council Summit in Washington, DC.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Akers, C. R. (2017, September). Essential Partnerships and Bridge Building for Sustained Success: The National Youth Preparedness Initiative; Current Process and Future Expansion. Program presented at the Extension Disaster Education Network Annual Conference in Moline, IL.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Akers, C. R. (2017, November). Youth Preparedness and Youth Leadership: A Recipe for Success through MyPI. Program presented at the Mississippi HOSA Annual Conference in Gulfport, MS.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Akers, C. R. (2018, February). Volunteers and Youth Preparedness Partnerships. Panel discussion presented at the American Red Cross Youth Preparedness Conference in St. Louis, MO.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Akers, C. R., and Nichols, D. (2018, March). The Mississippi Youth Preparedness Initiative (MyPI) and MSU Extensions Youth Preparedness Continuum (YPC): Fostering Preparedness, Civic Responsibility, and Empowerment in Todays Youth. Program presented at the Mississippi Municipal Leagues annual Youth Leadership Summit in Cleveland, MS.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Akers, C. R., and Nichols, D. (2018, May). The Mississippi Youth Preparedness Initiative (MyPI): Fostering Preparedness, Civic Responsibility, and Empowerment in Todays Teens. Program presented at the Mississippi Partners in Preparedness Summit in Biloxi, MS.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Akers, C. R., and Nichols, D. (2018, May). Charting a New Course: A National Preparedness Reboot through Innovative Programming and Partnering for Community Resilience. Program presented at the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster Annual Conference in Providence, RI.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Akers, C. R. (2018, July). Setting the New Standard: A National Youth Preparedness Reboot through Innovative Programming for Community Resilience by Fostering Leadership, Civic Responsibility, and Empowerment in Todays Teens. Program presented at the HOSA (Health Occupational Students of America) International Leadership Conference in Dallas, TX.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Akers, C. R., and Nichols, D. (2018, July). The Mississippi Youth Preparedness Initiative (MyPI) and Ready in the Middle: Fostering Preparedness, Civic Responsibility and Empowerment in Todays Youth. Program presented at the Mississippi Career and Technology Education Annual Conference in Jackson, MS.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Akers, C. R., and Nichols, D. (2018, August). Setting the New Standard: A National Youth Preparedness Reboot through Innovative Programming for Community Resilience by Fostering Leadership, Civic Responsibility, and Empowerment in Todays Teens. Program presented at the National CERT Conference in Naples, FL.
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: MyPI Mississippi. Found online at http://mypi.extension.msstate.edu
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: MyPI Nebraska. Found online at http://mypinebraska.org
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: MyPI Hawaii. Found online at http://mypihawaii.org
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: MyPI Washington. Found online at http://mypiwashington.org
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: MyPI Virginia. Found online at http://mypivirginia.org
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: MyPI Illinois. Found online at http://mypiillinois.org
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: MyPI Tennessee. Found online at http://mypitennessee.org
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: MyPI New Jersey. Found online at http://mypinewjersey.org
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: MyPI National. Found online at http://mypinational.extension.msstate.edu

Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience and numbers for the project have remained consistent with the what was listed in the proposal. While this project focuses on youth (specifically teens) in the five counties selected among the 8 partnering states (Mississippi, New Jersey,Tennessee, Nebraska, Illinois, Virginia, Hawaii, and Washington, the project's wide reaching nature also involves instructors, parents/guardians, communities, and those families/households that become a part of each student's leadership/service project. Louisiana had to be replaced in Phase 1due to limited staffing to serve as instructors. They were replaced with New Jersey. Additionally, due to delays in submitting required paperwork and partnership agreements, Texas was replaced in Phase 1 with Hawaii. "Placeholder A" was created and listed in the original proposal when a state initiallyindicated the ability to commit to the time required for the project, but pulled out right before the proposal was submitted. Placeholder A was the Pacific Northwest state of Oregon. Oregon was replaced in in Phase 1 with the Pacific Northwest state of Washington. We have been and will continue to train up to 15 Instructors per state, which represents 3 instructors per selected county. In total, 120 instructors will be trained among the 8 states. Instructor Certification and Training Workshops (ICTWs) have been successfully completed thus far in Nebraska, Hawaii, and Washington. The remaining ICTWs are scheduled for delivery in 2017. Nebraska, Hawaii, and Washington will soon begin delivery of their respective programs by their newly training and certified Instructors. One thousand students, 125 per state, will be enrolled students in the program. As a result of their enrollment and participation (and subsequent graduation), each student will work with their own household plus six additional households that they select for a total of seven households per student. That formula allows for 7,000 households to be directly impacted by the National project, producing a substantial impact and proven formula for enhancing individual, family, and community preparedness. The framework for delivery will be sustained for continued impact after the project's funding period closes. Changes/Problems:There have been no major problems or changes to the project. The only changes to the project were noted in the Target Audience tab and they were minor and approved. Placeholder A represented the Pacific Northwest State of Oregon. They initially committed to the project and pulled out right before the deadline for submission. Fortunately, I had a list of states waiting to join the project in case something like that were to happen. We were able to bring the Pacific Northwest State of Washington in to replace them in Phase 1. Additionally, two originally committed states (Louisiana and Texas) both had circumstances which prevented them from participating in Phase 1. Louisiana was dealing with a staffing issue and did not believe they could provide the needed instructors. Fortunately, New Jersey was waiting to join the project in Phase 1. In terms of comparable disasters, hazards, and risks, we replaced Louisiana which faces hurricanes and flooding issues, with New Jersey, another state that faces the same threats. Texas had had difficulty collecting the necessary paperwork and partnership agreements to continue in Phase 1. Texas was replaced with Hawaii, which deals with a host of different types of threats. Number of instructors and number of students have remained consistent despite the minor changes in partnering states listed above. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We have completed three ICTWs (Nebraska, Hawaii, and Washington). Participation, response, and support has been overwhelmingly positive and the motivation to push this project is very inspiring. In the ICTWs, we essentially take our instructors through a CERT Train the Trainer and a MyPI Train the Trainer, so they understand both the content of the program and how to teach it. The State Points of Contact and/or attending emergency management representatives in these three states have cleared those participants to lead CERT trainings and of course our process clears them to lead MyPI deliveries. Across these three ICTWs, we have had local, state, and federal emergency management representation that will stop in and introduce themselves, learn more about the program, and offer their support to the instructors. The networking between instructors and emergency management representatives that takes place within these ICTWs will no doubt lead to additional opportunities down the road. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?There are no results to be disseminated to communities of interest as of yet except for related data that existed prior to this project. Data collected from ICTWs can and will be shared, but that is just dealing with the Instructors. The compelling data will be collected from the students once program deliveries to them begin. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Basically, we will execute the rest of our project as proposed. Specifically, we will complete the remaining ICTWs in Virginia (September), New Jersey (September), Tennessee (October), Illinois (November), and Mississippi (December) to train and certify between 10-15 instructors in those states. Similarly, program deliveries to 125 students in each of these states will begin and end and service projects with 7 families per student will also conclude. Websites and social media accounts will be developed, published, utilized extensively and then transferred to new ownership. Data that provide evidence of individual and community impact of the model will be compiled and presented to appropriate agencies, and it is our hope that sustainable youth preparedness programs in each state will continue and of benefit to youth development as well as individual, family, and community preparedness and resilience for years to come.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Simply put, we are right on track and where we want to be within Phase 1 of this project. We are following our proposed model to certify 10-15 instructors per state, graduate 125 students per state, and directly engage and impact 875 households per state, while collecting the data necessary to produce impact reports that can lead to sustainable youth preparedness programs for years to come. Three Instructor Certification and Training Workshops (ICTWs) have been completed and those states' deliveries of MyPI is about to begin. Comprehensive state-level websites and social media accounts and live and updated on a regular basis. Promotion of the state level programs has begin in the three states, delivery planning and calendar drafting has started, and the online Instructor forums are being utilized. The remaining Phase 1 partners' ICTWs have been scheduled and will be completed in 2017 with program deliveries to begin shortly after ICTW completion.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Akers, C. R. (2017, September). Essential Partnerships and Bridge Building for Sustained Success: The National Youth Preparedness Initiative; Current Process and Future Expansion. Program to be presented at the Extension Disaster Education Network Annual Conference in Moline, IL.
• Type: Other Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Akers, C. R. (2017, July). The Mississippi Youth Preparedness Initiative and MyPI National. Panel discussion at FEMAs National Youth Preparedness Council Summit in Washington, DC.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Akers, C. R., and Nichols, D. (2016, October). Developing Mississippi's Multi- Tiered Youth Preparedness Continuum: Analyzing Need, Innovative Programs, Collaboration, and Regional/National Applicability. Program presented at the Extension Disaster Education Network Annual Conference in Ithaca, NY.
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: MyPI Nebraska. Found online at http://www.mypinebraska.org.
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: MyPI Hawaii. Found online at http://www.mypihawaii.org.
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: MyPI Washington. Found online at http://www.mypiwashington.org.
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: MyPI National. Found online at http://www.mypinational.extension.msstate.edu.