Apache County is largely rural with one of the lowest population densities in the state (6.4 persons per square mile vs. 56.3 for Arizona). The UA Cooperative Extension, Apache (Apache Extension), is contracted to work with ECEs in Apache, where challenges include competing demands on ECEs, high rates of ECE staff turnover, and limited staff capacity of the Apache Extension.
Nonetheless, the Apache Extension recognized that center directors were interested in Empower trainings and leveraged their ability to provide this training to overcome common barriers.
