(The complete statement of Dr. Ralston follows:)

STATEMENT BY DR. N. P. RALSTON, DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL EXTENSION SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, we wish to thank you for the opportunity to meet with this committee to present the U.S. Department of Agriculture's favorable views on H.R. 15280, a bill which amends the District of Columbia Public Education Act that establishes the Federal City College as a Land Grant institution of higher learning. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has jurisdiction over two parts of the amendment with reference to the Act of May 8, 1914 (38 Stat. 372; 7 U.S.C. 341-346, 347a, 348. 349) and the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 1087; 7 U.S.C. 1621-1629). The Smith-Lever Act has the greater application.

The bill would authorize the United States Department of Agriculture to make available to residents of the District of Columbia the Cooperative Extension Service's pool of professionally trained leaders for Extension, particularly in home economics, youth work, and in marketing.

The Department of Agriculture has long been one of the world's great institutions of research and education. It has worked cooperatively with numerous Federal agencies, State departments and agencies-specifically those of agriculture, the land-grant universities-and with private organizations, to help equip the best informed, best trained, and most productive agricultural clientele in history. Their proficiency has freed a major percentage of our workers to produce other goods and services that have benefited all people of this country and the world.

Secretary Freeman stated in a recent address, "The Rural Challenge to the Cities", at the 25th Anniversary of Fairleigh-Dickinson University, "Research and education are not enough. The city system should include an urban extension service, made up of trained men and women, who, like the county agent, carry the results of applied research to its actual users the people who need help. The extension agents would serve in another major fashion. They would report the needs of the people back to local governments and to universities for research and action."

Smith-Lever Act

In the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, Congress established the Extension Service, which has been truly a cooperative organization in its mutually beneficial relationship with the States, the universities, and the public. Through its vast network of educational and informational services, the Department has made readily available to all citizens the findings in research (foods, diet and nutrition, marketing, etc.). The result has been that when emergencies have arisen-whether major national conflicts, the great drought of the 1930's, or the more recent advent of mechanization-the leadership and technological know-how of the Extension Service has modified the blow of what otherwise might have been disaster for large areas of the Nation.

Since World War II, the Extension Service, in response to the demands of the people, has been expanding its programs into urban areas. The following quote from the report of the House Appropriations Committee on the Fiscal Year 1968 Agriculture Appropriation Bill is illustrative of this trend: "In view of the many agencies of the Department and the entire Federal Government engaged in community development activities, the Committee feels that the additional funds can be used most effectively in programs which work directly with the youth of this Nation. The wholesome effect of 4-H Club activities has been so beneficial to rural youth that additional efforts to bring 4-H programs to young people in the congested and deprived urban areas of the United States would make an invaluable contribution to the moral, spiritual, and economic strength of this Nation."

Agricultural Marketing Act

The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 authorizes the promotion through research, studies, experimentation, and cooperation of a scientific approach to marketing, transportation, and distribution of agricultural products. Section 204 (b) of that act authorizes the Department to make allotments to State departments of agriculture, State bureaus and departments of marketing, State agricultural experiment stations, and other appropriate State agencies for cooperative projects in marketing service and marketing research. Designating

the District of Columbia as a "State" for the purpose of this authority would permit allotments to appropriate agencies of the District of Columbia. Allotments under section 204 (b) are required to be matched by non-Federal funds.

In addition to moneys available for allotment to States under Section 204(b), appropriations are also authorized for use by the Department of Agriculture in cooperating with State agencies and others, including persons or corporations engaged in the production, transportation, storage, processing, marketing, and distribution of agricultural products. As to this authority, the Department of Agriculture can presently cooperate with appropriate organizations in the District of Columbia.

Work in nonrural areas

Many cities have made effective use of the Cooperative Extension Service— especially 4-H youth development and Extension home economics programs. Extension-guided home counseling services and youth development programs have been initiated in recent months through Land-Grant universities to provide leadership in public housing projects in such cities as Providence, Rhode Island; Portland, Oregon; Kansas City, Missouri; Hartford, Manchester, and New Haven, Connecticut; Newark, New Jersey; Buffalo, New York; and Warren, Ohio. Similar self-help, learning-by-doing programs are urgently needed for the thousands of families in the District's public housing developments and in many other low-income neighborhoods.

Extension has demonstrated that it can fulfill a unique role of working with families and youth to help them raise their aspirations and make effective use of the services of the many specialized agencies. At the same time, Extension would have collaborative and mutually beneficial relationships with schools, employment services, and other community agencies.

The cooperating university

Another phase of this relationship that warrants consideration is the role of each designated university which carries out Cooperative Extension programs. Such a university heeds the call for help from the community, reviews the problems, and helps local organizations plan for youth development programs, for adult education, for teaching of homemaker skills, for child health, and for other needed programs.

A university that sponsors an Extension Service lends its prestige and many of its mort eminent professors to the job of helping the entire community. Exposure to the problems of the community enriches the vitality and expands the objectives of any educational institution.

The professional staff of the university has an opportunity to participate with all other Land-Grant institutions in numerous relevant subject-matter seminars, workshop, etc., which contribute to their professional growth and development. This relationship would strengthen the knowledge base for the District of Columbia Extension program.

What extension can do for families in the District

Extension has more than 50 years of experience which would be utilized to help families, including their youth, to improve their home situations and manage their resourses; to be productive in employment situations; and to develop values of good citizenship.

Extension is a "family-centered" program. One of its objectives is to reach adults and youth who do not take advantage of existing educational opportunities, and to motivate them to learn the skills, attitudes, and knowledge necessary for successful family living.

Extension aims to help disadvantaged families and youth learn to secure and use goods and services in such as way as to achieve the greatest satisfaction for all family members.

Children and adults would participate in learning experiences that would reinforce each other-information on nutrition, sanitation, and personal hygiene, for example. They would learn to use community resources of benefit to the family and would become involved in community organizations.

Homemakers would develop home management skills; good housekeeping practices; buymanship; care and use of foods, clothing, household furnishing and equipment; as well as better child development and human relationships.

Husbands would become involved in the learning experiences Extension provides to homemakers and youth.

Families would develop a feeling of self-reliance and an appreciation for the benefits gained from using knowledge to improve family well-being. Eventually they would establish immediate and long-term goals which are compatible, practical, and attainable.

Extension program and learning experiences in home economics

Extension work in home economics can focus on critical problems. Educational programs could be provided in

Food selection and preparation to provide adequate diets at minimum cost; food storage to prevent spoilage and contamination; production and preservation of food where feasible;

Use of donated and purchased foods;

Housekeeping skills;

Money management and consumer education;

Sanitation, safety, and use of available health services:

Improvements in housing, storage, sleeping facilities, and kitchen arrange

ments;

Construction of home furnishings; improving appearance of home through use of ingenuity instead of money (might include reupholstering, repairing, refinishing);

Clothing selection, care, and repair; remodeling used clothing;

Family relationships-particularly in the area of child and youth development. (The quality of the home environment has a profound effect on the psychological and physical development of the children.);

Personal appearance (in our culture cleanliness and good grooming are important assets in school and in the world of business and industry.) ; and

Manners and poise-essential in adjusting in an upwardly mobile situa

tion.

Extension programs and learning experiences with youth

Experiences with 4-H educational programs in a number of cities involving low-income youth and their families indicate that many of these program learning experiences are of interest and value to these boys and girls. Among these are: making and repairing clothing; woodworking; flower growing; home and appliance repairs; automotive care and safety; electronics; amateur radio operation; conservation; health and safety; home nursing; home improvement; teen leadership; and child development. Food preparation and learning better nutrition are basic programs for them. Science projects in plant and animal biology, chemistry and engineering have appeal. Money management; community beautification; home management; photography; vegetable growing; bicycle care, repair and safe riding; basics of rocketry; better grooming and clothes care; reading; personal development; citizenship; and public speaking help them to develop skills. Also, it has been shown that contacts between youth and professional people have stimulated youth in career planning.

Other programs can be based on specific situations, needs, and interests of youth in any neighborhood. The interest of youth in project work motivates them to participate in related, carefully designed learning experiences based upon educational objectives directed toward specific needs and problems.

Because youth are confused and frustrated by experiences which are too different from their present way of life or which seem unattainable, projects are planned to provide a progression of experiences. The first experiences are those within the neighborhood of the youth. As the children indicate readiness, the experiences move out into the larger community. Special learning experiences designed to help with specific problems of teenage youth are related to the problem of planning for and securing employment.

Opportunities to see places of employment are provided in the project. This approach makes the experience specific, realistic, meaningful. The focus is on the workers-the kinds of positions they hold and the skill levels, education, and training required for such positions. Employees who talk with the youth are carefully selected to demonstrate such things as opportunity to advance in positions and opportunity for members of minority groups to attain higherskilled positions. The experience is planned to teach the process of studying employment opportunities in relationship to one's self.

Panels of workers at 4-H meetings tell about their work; their education and training, and how they secured it; what to expect from an employer; what the employer will expect.

Information and materials are provided on business and industries, emphasizing employment and the impact of changing technology on adequately preparing for employment. They help youth to gain greater understanding of the world of work.

Information dealing with school dropout problems includes ways of gaining training other than in school.

To increase the number of youth who use employment services, persons from public and private employment agencies are enlisted to inform youth of the help available. Their offices are visited.

Training is given in preparing for and conducting one's self at an employment interview.

Supervised practice in filling out an employment application blank is provided. In a study completed recently it was shown that only 5 percent of low-income teenagers in Washington, D.C., participate in nationally known youth organizations. However, 95.4 percent of the low-income teenagers said they have heard of 4-H. The study further pointed out that, since teenagers have strong feelings of wanting to belong, a well-known organization such as 4-H has a distinct advantage in interesting young people in the cities.

In summary, the first and perhaps the greatest contribution of the 4-H program has been to help children to be more successful in school by reinforcing their school experiences. The voluntary nature of the program, the smaller informal groups, the home-and-life-related experiences, may be major reasons for this success. This is best summed up by the words of an older girl who had been in 4-H for three years and who was employed as a summer assistant: "These children need love, personal attention, and a personal relationship more than subject matter. At least, they need these before they will respond to subject matter." Parents who urged their children to join 4-H explained, "We have seen that +H does things with them, not just for them. You help them do more for themselves." Methodology

Educational methods for the District of Columbia will be patterned after those which have been tested and found effective in Extension's developmental projects recently carried out in low-income areas.

Home visits and personal contacts will be used extensively in the initial efforts of Extension because the hard-core poor typically do not actively seek out educational opportunities, and they are not accustomed to meeting in groups. Such contacts will aid in gaining the confidence of the people, identifying problems and level of knowledge, and acquainting local residents with program opportunities. Eventually, individuals will be involved in group learning experiences, because research shows that people learn some things better in a group situation. Also, the time of the Extension worker is spent more efficiently in group work.

The total family approach will be used. Educational experiences will be directed at the various family members simultaneously, although they may be in different groups. Programs by radio and TV, newsletters, and leaflets will be directed to the family.

Educational materials will be placed in such centers as libraries, doctors' waiting rooms, laundromats, beauty parlors, barber shops, grocery stores, youth centers, and neighborhood houses. Tours of supermarkets and thrift shops featuring secondhand clothing will be used to teach comparison shopping.

Local advisory groups and potential participants will be used to identify problems so that the program will be responsive to local needs. Other relevant Government agencies and local organizations will be involved by serving on advisory groups, providing entree into homes, identifying problems and participants, reinforcing learning, and serving as volunteers.

Extension administration in the District of Columbia

Extension work in the District of Columbia would be administered similar to the method authorized by the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 341-346, 347a, 348, 349). The Secretary of Agriculture should be authorized to adapt Extension programs to the needs of the District of Columbia. A memorandum of understanding would be signed between the President of the Federal City College and the Secretary of Agriculture. It would set forth mutual working relationships and responsibilities.

Administration and programing

The director of the District of Columbia Cooperative Extension Service would be located on the campus of the institution of higher learning designated to implement the programs. He would relate to the institution's administration and organization so as to have access to the expertise of the institution not only in home economics and youth development work, but also in other fields. It is envisioned that the Cooperative Extension staff of the institution would be made up of three components-administrative and program leaders; subject-matter specialists in all appropriate academic departments; and field staff located in area offices in different areas of the city.

Cost of the program

This bill authorizes appropriation of such sums as may be necessary to extend the provisions of the Act of May 8, 1914, to the District of Columbia. Such sums to be appropraited shall be in addition to and not in substitution for, sums otherwise appropriated under such Act, or otherwise appropriated for agricultural extension work. Four per centum of the sum so appropriated for each fiscal year shall be allotted to the Federal Extension Service, Department of Agriculture, for administrative, technical, and other services of the Department in carrying out the purposes of this section. The District of Columbia shall not be required to offset allotments authorized under this section. Conclusion

The U.S. Department of Agriculture believes that the citizens of the District of Columbia are entitled to the benefits of Cooperative Extension programs, particularly in 4-H-youth development and home economics, which are now enjoyed by citizens in the 50 States, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Guam. We believe these Extension programs can assist materially in providing greater fulfillment for the people working and living in our national city. We also believe that Federal City College, as the cooperating institution of higher learning, should have appropriated research and teaching activities to support effective cooperative extension work.

Mr. SISK. Thank you, Dr. Ralston. Does that conclude your statement? I have only one question in line with the question I had asked earlier. You, representing the Department of Agriculture, of course, will have certain jurisdiction over approval of some of these funds or transfer of funds. Do you have any question with reference to the legal position of the Federal City College as the language is at present written in the bill in connection with its cooperative effort with the Technical Institute in making funds available to them? Do you have any reservations at all?

Dr. RALSTON. We have no objection to this at all. Our Memorandum of Understanding would be with the Federal City College, and we would work that program out together so that if there were questions and concerns, I am sure these could be resolved on this kind of a basis.

Mr. HARSHA. Doctor, I do not mean to belabor this point about appropriations, but the bill provides for what we sometimes call an openend appropriation, and we run into problems on the floor with it. And just authorizing the appropriation of such sums as may be necessary kind of leaves the door wide open, so that we are going to be confronted with this as we try to get the bill passed on the floor. That is why we were hoping to find appropriate answers with which we could advise the other members of the House. Since you do not have any suggestion as to what sums will be needed at this time, how do you arrive at the .04 percent conclusion for administrative and technical expenses of the Department.

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