The role of the EFNEP paraprofessional in revitalized Cooperative Extension Service

The purpose of this mini-strategic planning study was to contribute information with a potential relevance to internal and external decision-makers targeting new audiences in issue-oriented programing. The main hypothesis for this study was: learning whether changes in Cooperative Extension would require a change in the way in which paraprofessionals are used to help EFNEP achieve its mission and what recommendations can best be interpreted from a link-pin model that uses paraprofessionals to achieve a two-way flow between EFNEP and the target audience. Findings include a discussion of three types of paraprofessionals and paraprofessionals as a "nerve center" that links the Cooperative Extension Service to diverse and pluralistic audiences.