f)l.3Z-JHO) yy United States Department of Agriculture Science and Education Administration Miscellaneous Publication Number 1401 Highlights of "A Comprehensive National Plan for New Initiatives in Home Economics Research, Extension and Higher Education" HUM FAS. iv. of Florida' New Initiatives for Families American families have the task, vital to the Nation's well being, of caring for their members, promoting individual growth and development, and meeting their needs for food, housing, fuel, and other requirements essential to health and safety. Problems facing families during the decade of the eighties will be serious and will affect every family in the Nation. To handle these problems, families will need new information and skills. The diversity of families and of their value systems requires a similar diversity in both content and delivery of education to them. C/> ■ ■ ■ ■o CD ■ ■ ■ (D ^ E CO LL 3 o c CO C (0 "> c c CO o > CO 0) LU c o _> ■o c o LU LU .5 c 3 5 S 53 c CO 1- 0) "3 z 75 o o (0 3 CD z CD z o E c LU o o c CO o LL (0 c ■ £ o c ** o LU ■ ■ c CD >» ■ — 0) E CO _>* Congress in 1977 called for new initiatives in home economics, human nutrition, and family living to respond to these challenges. The research and education initiatives *^ proposed here in response to £ » "c £ -h* "IJ management decisions a ™ ® 15 £ Of family makes early in its life D E Q) c ^ cycle. O c I = OC CO 2 Tj O ... to enable the family to "^ £ .— " — optimize its real income ^ C CO > IT through home-provided goods q UJ ~ m »2 and services, home-based — 5 ii enterprises, and paid 2? c ■— 75 employment. j^ CO -j" ■— g ... to assess the benefits and 2 &* 5 (/) Z costs of regulations, market (/) » ment of real property, ~ (/) especially during periods of £ family transition. CO «^* = 1 LL ... In Energy and Environment . . . Focus Families making decisions on housing, transporta- tion, and life style Forecasting and planning agencies Agencies developing resource policies Families who are moving or whose housing require- ments are changing Families Families Costs and supplies of energy for household use, potential water shortages, and disposal of residues from the production and consumption of consumer products will continue to be issues in the eighties. Rapid increases in energy costs are contributing to inflation nationally, burdening family budgets, and creating further hardship for low-income and elderly families. Research and education are needed ... on replacing household practices that are inefficient and wasteful of resources with safe and healthful alternatives that conserve resources. ... on use of environmental resources by types of families in their everyday living. ... on implications of alternative resource manage- ment policies for the home environment: the tradeoffs with family nutrition and health, home safety and sanitation, family economic and social well-being, and other aspects of family life. ... on housing choices (structures and location) in which resources are used efficiently and family needs and activities related to employment, the community, and sources of essential goods and services are considered. ... on managing expenses resulting from rising energy prices in a manner that safeguards family nutrition and health, safety and sanitation, and long-term economic security. ... on coping with emergency situations caused by energy or water shortages, or other interruptions to supply. . ■ ■ ■o ■ ■ ■ 0) ♦* sz ■ k. c C 0) E c "5 0) E c o "> c 75 0) X c CO o "> .2 LU c o c LU *•— "D o Hi C *■* 3 z 75 "5 o (0 3 z . £ C *■» " o> ■ c • 0) *-• 0) E (0 . . . In Food, Nutrition, and Health . . . Focus Families as consumers Schools, food industry, families with special resource- management needs Ethnic and cultural minorities Families as consumers Urban residents Nutrition affects the health of every individual from the time of conception to death. Health care costs are rapidly escalating, and the realization is growing that Americans' major physical and mental health problems are chronic and not able to be quickly and easily treated. These two factors are stimulating families to want to avoid the high cost of health care by preventing illness. Research and education are needed ... on adaptation of dietary • \ CD standards and recommenda- -C .^ ■— tions to family and individual — C 2- needs and problems, house- 5 2 ** c o c LU •^ o LU +•* CO 3 CD z ■+-» 3 z o o CO c o o CO LL .c c ^-> o> ■ c ■ CD E CO Li- nl[ . . . In Family Strengths and Social Environment Focus Child-care providers, single parents, teenage parents Affected families Multigenerational households, geographically mobile families, transient families Community and rural development planners Family composition and life cycle significantly influence how families will handle their tasks. Families in the eighties will cope with the cumulative effects of several decades of change — as more young adults postpone marriage, go to work, and establish separate households ... as incidence of child abuse, child runaways, and children in trouble continues ... as more married couples separate, divorce, or experience death of the spouse ... as more adults live alone. Research and education are needed ... on parenting skills. ment outlook), changes in family structure (divorce, death of spouse, retirement), and other critical life events ... on identifying and q O" managing, as a family, the C S. problems associated with C changing social and economic O .2 conditions (inflation, employ- .— ™ C O LU 5; — LU CO (moving, job change, "77 5 unemployment). O -2 CO Z ... on the role of the community and relatives in helping families plan for and adjust to changes through the life cycle. c CO ... on the place of ^ communities, institutions, and to serve families — that is, more effective needs assessment, more effective use of communication technology, and more effective program evaluation. . . . expanded professional education to train family and consumer research scientists and educators. Detailed proposals have been developed for work to be done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, land-grant colleges and universities, cooperative extension services, and other cooperating institutions with programs in the food, agricultural, and family sciences. Background The Congress, in the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, called for new Federal initiatives to improve and expand research and extension programs in home economics, human nutrition, and family living. In 1979 the Science and Education Administration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture established a national steering committee, with representatives from the land-grant college and university system, other institutions, professional groups, and user organiza- tions (groups that use research results and extension information). The steering committee, after reviewing reports, recommendations, and issues, identified a few high-priority initiatives representing areas needing significant amounts of research, extension, and higher education. The proposed initiatives were assessed and accepted by 400 users, professional persons, and administrators. This brochure highlights findings and recom- mendations of the national study. A complete report of this study and a plan for action will appear as "A Comprehensive National Plan for New Initiatives in Home Economics Research, Extension, and Higher Education." Obtain a copy of Miscellaneous Publication No. 1405 from the Science and Education Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington. D.C. 20250. UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 3 1262 08864 8737