Volunteer Income Tax Assistance: A Community Coalition for Financial Education and Asset Building

Free tax programs, such as Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), allow recipients of the earned income tax credit (EITC) to have their returns filed for free. VITA and other free tax programs are nationwide. However, each program is distinct, and the services provided by these programs differ. This article discusses a successful and unique community collaboration that can be used by Cooperative Extension professionals nationwide to assist consumers with tax preparation, introduce new paths for providing consumers with financial education, and open the door to involving consumers in additional financial management programming

Engaging and Training Professionals to Implement Family Strengthening Programs: Lessons Learned

Child welfare professionals (CWPs) who attended the Healthy Relationship and Marriage Education Training delivered by Extension educators in Georgia participated in focus groups 6 months post-training to investigate what elements of the training influenced their implementation of the concepts and their recommendations for future trainings. The findings revealed three elements that influenced implementation: relevant content, interactive training, and trainer attributes. CWPs made recommendations concerning content/curriculum format, field implementation, and training methods. Conclusions included recommendations for both CWPs and Extension educators. As an unexpected outcome, results suggested that qualitative evaluation may reinforce and strengthen partnerships between Extension and other agencies