Survey of Cooperative Extension Educators: On Serving Latino Populations in Michigan

2016

Ruben Martinez, Jean Kayitsinga

Document Id: RR-56

This study presents findings from a sub-sample of the survey of Extension educators in the North Central Regional. This study was conducted by the Julian Samora Research Institute on behalf of the North Central Extension Research Institute Activity (NCERA). Results show that almost half of respondents in Michigan do not regularly interact with Latino communities, but the majority of respondents are interested in collaborating with Latino-serving organizations in their areas to reach the Latino population. A majority of respondents indicated that there is lack of Extension programs tailored for and the capacity to serve Latino populations. A majority of respondents also indicated that residents trust Latinos and that they contribute to the economic health of their communities. Further a majority believe that more resources should be allocated by Extension units to better serve Latino communities, including hiring more bilingual, bicultural educators.