Can My 4-H Club Meet? What Families Need to Know

Current Status of In-Person Events

Oregon State University has granted approval for regular 4-H club meetings. Special meetings and county events require individual approval but are generally able to proceed following the same guidelines.

Volunteer Expectations for Club Meetings

Requirements for club meetings       

All 4-H families are encouraged to review the club safety guidelines and ensure that all steps are being followed at each meeting. Acknowledgement of the club saftey guildelines will be part of annual enrollment for volutneers. Upon re-enrolling, your club will be approved to meet (if it hasn't been approved already).

Clubs Currently Approved to Resume Modified in-person Meetings

Starting last June, clubs were approved to meet once they submitted a club safety plan. Going forward, clubs should follow the club safety guidelines that were published in October.

Attendance, Group Size, and Facility Restrictions

At every in-person gathering, a Contact Tracing Form must be filled out. Parents will sign members in and out of each event. The leader submits the Contact Tracing Form to the Extension Office after each event via e-mail.

Maximum Attendance at a 4-H meeting is 30 youth, plus the adult volunteers. All youth present count toward the total (including extra family members). If your group is larger than 30, divide your meetings into smaller cohorts.

Information is based on current OHA guidance for youth enrichment programs here: Oregon Health Authority Statewide Reopening Guidance – Youth Programs

Virtual meetings are still encouraged. Members can not be required to attend in-person meetings or meet attendance requirements at this time.

Expectations when attending an in-person 4-H event

• Everyone attending should have acceptable masks available and may be required to wear them during the entire event.
• Do not send anyone with a fever or who is feeling sick. If anyone has had a recent exposure and been advised to quarantine they can not attend.
• Only send members and adults that are expected to be at the event – limit extra family members
• Sharing or serving food or drinks are not allowed at this time
• Practice good hand washing and use of hand sanitizers

Club Safety Supplies

We provided kits for all clubs and independent members. Some clubs have not yet picked up their kit and it is available at the Extension office. Kits contain the following items (larger groups have more items)

• Zippered lunch-box style container to store your safety items
• Spray-on hand sanitizer
• Roll of blue tape for hanging signs and marking distances
• A club sign-in sheet and a pen
• Cloth masks: 2 per leader and one per member, or keep them in your kit as "extras" if someone forgets their mask
• Available by request: Disposable gloves, refill bottles of hand sanitizer, extra copies of the club sign-in sheet

Report a Positive COVID Case

Did someone who attended a club meeting get sick? If any person who was at a 4-H in-person event has symptoms of illness or gets informed of an exposure, it needs to be reported to us immediately. We want to hear from the family or club leader if anyone has symptoms that *might* be COVID, confirmed cases, and possible exposures even if you don't have symptoms. Contact Katie Hausre or Angela Robb and tell us what's going on. We promise to be kind and respect private information. We'll determine if we need to notify the other people who were at the meeting and will take care of the OSU reporting requirement.

We are Here to Help!

If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call 541-523-6418