For Head Start StaffEarly Head StartEarly Head Start Programs Benefit from the Head Start Program Performance StandardsThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services just published a research brief demonstrating the importance of the Head Start Program Performance Standards in favorably impacting child and family outcomes in Early Head Start programs. Early Head Start programs that implemented the Head Start Program Performance Standards early had a stronger pattern of impacts than those Early Head Start programs that did not. Download the Brief (PDF). NewsBreastfeedng Saves Lives "If most new moms would breastfeed their babies for the first six months of life, it would save nearly 1,000 lives and billions of dollars each year." As we celebrate World Health Day today, we should be reminded about the importance of breastfeeding by this new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics. This report further observed... "The United States incurs $13 billion in excess costs annually and suffers 911 preventable deaths per year because our breastfeeding rates fall far below medical recommendations... "The World Health Organization says infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Ame rican Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all agree that breast milk alone is sufficient for newborns and infants until they are 6 months old. "However, a 2009 breastfeeding report card from the CDC found that only 74 percent of women start breastfeeding, only 33 percent were still exclusively breastfeeding at three months and only 14 percent were still exclusively breastfeeding at six months. Dr. Melissa Bartick, one of the new study's co-authors, says "...the vast majority of extra costs incurred each year could be saved if 80 to 90 percent of women exclusively breastfed for as little as four months and if 90 percent of women would breastfeed some times until six months. Most of the excess costs are due to premature deaths. Nearly all, 95 percent of these deaths, are attributed to three causes: sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS); necrotizing enterocolitis, seen prima rily in preterm babies and in which the lining of the intestinal wall dies; and lower respiratory infections such as pneumonia. Breastfeeding has been shown to reduce the risk of all of these and seven other illnesses studied." Go Green Rating Scale for Early Childhood Settings Understand what is safe, environmentally friendly, and healthy when it comes to products and practices used in your program. Help make the world a safer, healthier place for young children. The Go Green Rating Scale for Early Childhood Settings is a comprehensive, research-based tool to help you measure the gree nness of your setting, evaluate your practices, and take steps toward environmental improvement that will contribute to children's potential for long, healthy lives. Categories evaluated in the rating scale include:
Early Head Start Dental HealthBright Smiles for Babies: Early Head Start ResourceThings That Go Bump in the Night: Infant and Toddler Fears and Coping Strategies -- PPT presented by Deb Smith, PhD, Virginia Infant Toddler Specialist (PPT, large file, 4.2 MB) ECHO Project Comes to Virginia!The Early Childhood Hearing Outreach Project (ECHO), a program to identify and address early hearing loss in young children, is being piloted in five Early Head Start programs this year. The pilot programs receive state-of-the-art audiological equipment and training on how to use it. The training team is made up of audiologists from around the State, the VAHSA Executive Director, a representative from an EHS program, and a representative from the Virginia Department of Health. Programs in the pilot are: CDR (Southeast Region), Kids Central (Southwest Region), Orange (Northwest Region), Fairfax and Northern Virginia Family Services (Northeast Region). During this pilot year, the team will be looking at ways to expand and sustain this project. Learn more about the pilot (PPT, 3.5 MB) The ECHO Project has a monthly enewsletter, Probes and Tips, which is an interactive newsletter promoting quality early childhood hearing screening practices. Read issues below: Identify Appropriate Hearing Screening Methods for Each Age Group, October 2008 The ECHO Project has other helpful resources online at their website. If you have Early HS news or topics to share, send it for posting to this page. Email Maxine. |
