Children, Youth, and Families
at Risk (CYFAR)
Through an annual Congressional appropriation
for the National Children, Youth, and Families
at Risk (CYFAR) Program, CSREES allocates
funding to land-grant university extension
services for community-based programs for
at-risk children and their families. Since
1991, CYFAR has supported programs in more
than 600 communities in all U.S. states and
territories. State and local public and private
organizations have contributed cash and in-kind
resources that match or exceed the federal
appropriation.
The CYFAR Program is based on research on
effective programs for at-risk youth and
families and on the human ecological principle
of working across the lifespan in the context
of the family and community. To assure that
critical needs of children and families are
met, CYFAR supports comprehensive, intensive,
community-based programs developed with active
citizen participation in all phases. CYFAR
promotes building resiliency and protective
factors in youth, families, and communities.
CYFAR supports collaboration—forming
lasting partnerships to achieve greater outcomes
and to provide a support base for sustaining
programs for at-risk youngsters. CYFAR also
promotes the use of technology to improve
programs, provide efficient access to educational
resources, and provide essential technological
skills for youth and adults in at-risk environments.
State Strengthening (STST) and New Communities
(NCP) projects serve as the CSREES mechanism
for funding community-based projects and
expanding statewide capacity for supporting
and sustaining programming for at-risk youth
and families. CSREES provides funding to
46 land-grant university extension services
for STST and NCP. These community programs
serve more than 60,000 youth ages from pre-kindergarten
through age 19 and their parents.
These state CYFAR projects call for collaboration
across disciplines, program areas, and geographic
lines, as well as a holistic approach that
views the individual in the context of the
family and community. Information on each
of the CYFAR state projects is available
at the CYFAR
Web site under “State Projects:
Overviews, Directors, and Websites.”
Back to Youth Development & 4-H Home Page |
