Increasing Legislative Support and Funding of Cooperative Extension Through Active Agent Leadership
ISSN 2158-9429
Volume 17, Issue 1 - June 2024
Editor: Linda Chalker-Scott
Abstract
Many county agents acknowledge that they do not feel comfortable asking elected officials for more funding. Additionally, some agents do not celebrate the positive impacts of their programming outside of the university/extension reporting systems. It is well known that state funding of Cooperative Extension Services (CES) across the country has been stagnant. As a national aggregate, CES inflation-adjusted funding has declined 42.7% from 2008-2018. However, in Arizona, CES saw a 102% increase in funding. Arizona county extension agents played a pivotal and foundational role in shaping local, university and state priorities, which contributed to the legislative funding successes for the entire state extension system. This article explores what Arizona did and how county agents in every state can capitalize on the strengths and impact of their programs to generate support at the state and county level.
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