Extension staff raise safety concerns for evening youth programs at Walworth County government center

Extension staff warned the Walworth County Agriculture Extension Education Committee on June 20 that evening youth programs run upstairs at the government center face safety and communications gaps that could leave youth and volunteers vulnerable.

At the meeting the area director for extension described doors that are left unlocked during nighttime programs, limited volunteer coverage to monitor entry, and uncertainty about whether staff could reliably call for help because of intermittent cell service. "We're upstairs with... the doors down here are unlocked and we're upstairs with so we just have this, you know, it feels... trapped in there," the area director said, describing the physical layout and access concerns.

Janelle, the county 4‑H and youth development educator, told the committee that landlines are not available in the upstairs space and that the previously installed equipment to boost cell reception "worked really well for a long time but I don't think that whatever system was put in place is working well or at all anymore." She said limited volunteer availability makes staffing the entry point challenging during programs.

Committee members asked staff to work with Public Works on door access and with the county IT department to confirm whether the cell service fix is functioning. The area director said staff would follow up with IT and Public Works and report back: "We can work with IT to figure out the cell phone thing again," she said.

The discussion grew out of the committee's broader long‑term planning SWOT analysis and reflects operational constraints on evening youth programming, including volunteer capacity and the physical layout of the facility. Committee members volunteered to schedule a site tour in October to review the upstairs program space in person.

The committee took no formal action during the meeting beyond asking staff for a report; next steps are a technology/security status update to the committee and a planned facility tour in October.