The University of California 4-H Youth Development Program engages youth in reaching their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development.

4-H Youth Development is the brand-name identity for ANR youth development efforts.

The California 4-H Youth Development Program will:

• Support the UC/ANR mission and strategic planning assumptions.
• Recognize that ANR professionals provide the youth development framework for volunteers and other cooperators who bring the knowledge, experience and passion to work with youth in their communities.
• Appreciate, respect and value diversity through a commitment to inclusion of diverse Californians.
• Respond to local needs within a context of statewide criteria, practices and priorities for 4-H programming.
• Innovate to maximize impact and resources while documenting the unique youth development contributions of our 4-H Youth Development programs.

Each California 4-H Youth Development Program is:

• Focused on addressing significant environmental, economic and social issues affecting California's youth, families, and communities.
  
• Based on a proven experiential education model that creates an educational climate through planned learning by exploring, doing, and receiving feedback.
  
• Conducted with content and delivery systems consistent with a statewide 4-H youth development framework offering Citizenship, Leadership and/or Life Skills Development.
  
• Consistent with research in youth development, education, or other appropriate fields.
  
• A contributor to research and/or the extension of knowledge in youth development.
  
• Able to demonstrate, or likely to demonstrate, through research and/or evaluative data, a positive impact on youth served.
  
• Connected to, or has the potential to connect to UC or other campus-based faculty, programs and/or resources.
  
• Accessible and open to diverse audiences.
  
• Balanced in terms of assessing, managing, and monitoring the risk of potential problems to ensure program safety and achievement of key objectives defined by ANR's risk management program.
  
• Balanced so as to optimize the impact for clientele and the field of youth development. The impact achieved will be weighed against the resources invested at the statewide and local level.