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Expanding Access Quarterly Office of Access, Inclusion, and Compliance, Division of Extension

Winter 2021

Equity leadership from within Extension

Kathryn Boryc Smock, State Program Manager for FoodWIse

With the onset of the public health emergency last spring, FoodWIse, like all Extension programs, had to recalibrate program priorities and consider more flexible and innovative approaches to respond to partner agency and community needs. We heard from many partner agencies that participants needed a way to access information in smaller bites and on their own time. As we moved into the summer and recognized that school would look very different in the fall, we started thinking of how we could provide nutrition education through Zoom lessons and with short videos and activities that teachers could use for asynchronous lessons. We also recognized the need to better leverage our social media presence to reach our target audience with information on healthy eating on a budget, food safety, and staying active. While we were shifting the ways in which we were delivering education, we were also thinking about how we could strategically produce and disseminate this content in multiple languages.

We had a number of nutrition educators and coordinators that were excited to try out this new way of reaching the FoodWIse audience and some started producing videos and digital content right away. Extension’s Educational Technology Support (ETS) had some helpful guides for getting started with making videos and FoodWIse developed program guidance for creating digital communications; however, we learned pretty quickly that we needed to have a central support system for creating digital resources to ensure that we were adhering to our federal funding requirements and Extension policies, such as making sure all our public-facing content was appropriately subtitled. With 75 educators in the program, we also recognized that staff were at various points on the spectrum of being comfortable with using technology for programming. It was not realistic to expect that all our staff would quickly become proficient in the process of creating, editing, and closed captioning videos. We also knew that while ETS would be able to help the program develop a strategy and process for video creation, FoodWIse would need to manage this process for ourselves.

The FoodWIse state team of program managers and specialists started brainstorming how to manage the process of reviewing, editing, and producing content in multiple languages for videos and online presence while maintaining high quality educational programs. Our goal for this was to ensure that our approach was driven by a high level of intentionality. Around this time, Udaí Olivares, FoodWIse Bilingual Nutrition Educator, reached out to share some of his ideas and interest in this area of work. Prior to the pandemic, Udaí was involved in the development of the FoodWIse Quick Tips Videos with suggestions for buying and preparing healthy food on a budget. We collaborated with the OAIC to develop these videos in English, Spanish, and Hmong. They quickly became top-performing posts shared on the FoodWIse Facebook page at the beginning stages of the pandemic. Udaí also created social media posts in Spanish and English on preparing easy, healthy recipes with kids, and interviewed Barb Ingham, Food Safety Specialist, about food safety as it relates to COVID-19.

Videos have been produced in Hmong and Spanish

Sitting in the Program Manager role, I recognized that for the statewide program to successfully pivot to this new way of delivering programs, we had a critical and time-sensitive need for someone with technical skills in digital content development and editing, an understanding of the FoodWIse program and nutrition education, and cultural-linguistic assets. It was also clear that we had a staff member with these competencies and skills as well as interest in leading our development in this area. I started a conversation with Udaí, his supervisor, the HWB Institute Director, and Human Resources to assess the possibility of Udaí moving into a new position that would support FoodWIse colleagues in developing digital nutrition education resources in English and Spanish. All involved were supportive of creating a position to equip FoodWIse with this needed support and expertise. This led to creating a position description for a Bilingual Digital Media Assistant (Spanish-English), a role Udaí started on November 1.

Udai Olivares

Thus far, Udaí’s priorities in this new role have focused on working with FoodWIse specialists, Tony Roman, and nutrition educators across the state to develop pre-recorded videos for schools using a new intro-content-outro format, supporting closed captioning, and creating content for the FoodWIse state Facebook page. Creating a dedicated position for this work has helped consolidate time and effort. It allows FoodWIse educators to focus on nutrition education delivery while Udaí manages the video production and editing process. We are also able to be intentional in prioritizing and planning for content in Spanish since Udaí brings his language assets and knowledge of FoodWIse programming to the table. Moving Udaí into this role has been an important opportunity for FoodWIse to align our personnel, resources, and skills in ways that better serve our diverse communities. The current pandemic has posed many obstacles to programming, but has also created opportunities to tap into our colleagues’ talents and skills to develop responsive and high-quality nutrition education.

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Knowing our audience as a starting point for positive change

Christian Schmieder, Data Specialist & Data Governance Leader

As “the Wisconsin Idea in practice,” Extension is motivated by a goal and mission to serve all people in Wisconsin. To do that, understanding who we are reaching is critical for identifying areas where we can improve. Participation Records are among the many important tools we use to understand how well we are achieving our mission. The demographics recorded in Participation Records are the foundation for understanding whom we reach - and whom we do not reach. That is why our federal funding partner (USDA/NIFA) requires us to collect demographic information on participants. This data provides us with the means to critically assess our mandate for ensuring that our programming is both equitable and inclusive.

understanding who we are reaching is critical for identifying areas where we can improve

To support Extension's Program Managers and the teams they lead, a group of Extension colleagues (Evaluators, Program Managers, Educational Technology Services Staff, OAIC Staff, Data Governance Staff) has been working to create an online dashboard that helps visualize our participation records by Program. The Parity Tool is now complete. You can access it by clicking the button below.

The more self-reported demographics we collect, the better we understand where we make true on our mission. The more complete our Participation Records are, the more confident we can be in celebrating (and communicating) successes. Better data allows us to be focused and evidence-driven in our commitment to grow as an organization.

Screenshot of parity tool

Celebrate Black History Month with AAERG

Join Extension’s African American Employee Resource Group (AAERG) each Wednesday in February at Noon for Black Voices Matter. This series will feature guest speakers discussing a variety of topics affecting the African American and LGBTQ communities. These events are free to attend. However, registration is suggested.

February 3: Be (YOU) tifully Queer : Black Experiences in the Workplace - Shaashawn Dial, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Stephens College, and Founder, Voycetress Media, LL, Missouri

February 10: Unearthing and Understanding Microaggressions for Inclusion and Improved Communication - Dr. Mark D. Tschaepe, Associate Professor, Prairie View A&M University, Texas

February 17: Accountability: Health Disparities in the African American Community - Dr. Julianne Adams Brit (MD), Founder/CEO, Radiant Women’s Health, Georgia

February 24: Mass Incarceration: Banking on Bondage - Miss Domonique Green, Graduating Senior at Howard University, President and Founder of PAPERTAG, Washington, DC

Reminder on language access process and timelines

Extension is obligated by law to provide timely and free language access accommodations in order to improve access to Extension programs and services by limited English proficient ("LEP") members of the public. This includes creating multilingual materials and providing interpreter services during program events. Extension's Language Access Team (part of the Office of Access, Inclusion, and Compliance) is dedicated to providing support for language access accommodations statewide. This is accomplished through in-house translation and interpretation expertise as well as coordinating with third-party vendors.

Given the increasing demands on providing language access accommodations, the OAIC has developed an intake process to streamline and coordinate all requests for translations, interpreter services, and other types of language access accommodations. The full Language Access - Policy & Guidance document can be found in the Employee Handbook. The main features of the policy are outlined below.

How to request language access services:

  • Use the OAIC Support Request form (in Qualtrics) for all requests for translations, interpreter services, and other types of language access accommodations. The OAIC Support Request form is found on the OAIC website.
Screenshot of OAIC homepage. The OAIC Support Request intake form is found in the right sidebar.

Lead times for translation and interpretation services:

The Language Access Team (LAT) requires a minimum of 15 business days for coordinating translation and interpretation accommodations. The 15-day preparation time is necessary and appropriate to obtain necessary details and materials from the requestor, vet and proof translations for quality, schedule services for an event, and to coordinate services through third-party vendors if needed.

The LAT is aware that there may be extenuating circumstances that prevents support requests with at least 15 business days prior notice. Should OAIC receive support requests for accommodations with less than a 15 business day preparation time for translation services or lead time for interpretation services, we will do our best to work with the requester to provide accommodations, with the caveat that the feasibility to coordinate the accommodations may be significantly constrained. Staff will do their best to inform requestors of the constraints depending on the scope and nature of the request.

The LAT will not be able to coordinate language access services for support requests that are submitted within 5 or less business days of the program event date or deadline.

The more advanced notice and time the OAIC has in responding to support requests, the better prepared all parties will be in equitably serving LEP participants through our programs and activities.

LanguageLine Solutions available for county office phone calls:

Extension has a contract with LanguageLine Solutions, Inc. to provide distance interpreting services for county and tribal offices. LanguageLine resource documents are available on the OAIC website: OAIC>Language Access>LEP Compliance. For additional coaching on how to use this service, please submit an OAIC Service Request.

Calling all former Peace Corps volunteers!

Watch for the special "Peace Corps issue" of EAQ

We're excited to be working on a special issue of Expanding Access Quarterly that features our Extension colleagues who have served in the Peace Corps. It explores how their Peace Corps experience has shaped their Extension work. If you're a former Peace Corps volunteer and haven't yet been contacted by us, please reach out as soon as possible to kate.wodyn@wisc.edu to be included in this issue.

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Office of Access, Compliance, and Inclusion

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, language(s), background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For inquiries related to this publication or if you would like to make a financial gift to support the OAIC’s work, please contact oaic@extension.wisc.edu.

Created By
Kate Wodyn
Appreciate
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