For Head Start StaffHealth NewsNews!Let’s Move! Child Care State Challenge -- To reach more child care providers and encourage state participation in the LMCC Initiative, NACCRRA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care have launched a nationwide competition, Let’s Move! Child Care State Challenge. States have the opportunity to be recognized in two categories: 1) The state with the highest percentage of licensed or legally operating child care programs that sign up as LMCC participants; and 2) The state with the highest percentage of programs that complete the Checklist Quiz. This is a great opportunity for Head Start programs to work with local child care partners to ensure theirs is the wining state, and to receive national recognition at the 2012 Weight of the Nation™ Conference and beyond. Sign up now and take the Checklist Quiz. The LMCC State Challenge will end April 1st. QuickStart Head Start! -- an initiative to get three and four year-old disadvantaged kids moving and developing motor skills. They think they're playing tennis. Get a Head Start in life with QuickStart! QuickStart Tennis of Central Virginia partners with Head Start agencies and have provided training and equipment to eight classrooms so far. This initiative is funded by grants from the Inez Duff Bishop Trust, USTA/Mid-Atlantic Diversity Committee and the Community Obesity Task Force. The sooner we get kids moving, the better! Read more. Current Head Start Health Services Newsletters Health Institute for Early Childhood ProfessionalsResources from Nov 2-3, 2011 in Lynchburg
PowerPoints from Jan. 25-26 2011 Health Institute in Staunton:
Health Advisory Committee MeetingsAll Virginia Head Start Association Health Advisory Committee meetings will be held at the DSS in Ashland from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m except as noted. See the calendar for exact dates. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jackie Wake at 804-843-2289.
Meeting Agendas & Notes
ResourcesBare Essentials of Obesity PreventionIn his article "Michelangelo and the Prevention of Childhood Obesity," Martin Maimom outlined these basic steps to dealing with obesity in child care programs: Build in at least one hour of planned physical activity on a daily basis -- with structured (15-20 minute sessions) and unstructured activities. French fries don’t count as a vegetable. Teach kids, and the adults in their lives, about different food groups, and provide fruit and vegetable choices. Develop and refine a health policy that calls attention to the fact that health is critical to successful early learning. Among other important topics, it should highlight your chosen strategy for modeling healthy behaviors (e.g. physical activity and nutrition). Portion size -- remember as we grow our stomach is roughly the size of our fist. This gives a rough guide of how much food it takes to fill our stomach. Eating too much is not good for our body. Consider family-style meal service where children serve themselves and determine their own portion size. Healthy LunchesLooking for ideas to make school lunches healthier? Real Simple asked the country’s top dietitians and nutritionists which super-powered ingredients people should be incorporating into their diets regularly. Here are their combined top 30 recommendations:
Head Start Health Services NewslettersThe Head Start Health Services Newsletter brings child health and development professionals the most current research topics and policy updates for the Office of Head Start (OHS). The newsletter also includes announcements from professional organizations, federal agencies and federal partners to OHS. The Head Start and early childhood community may use the newsletter to stay informed. Healthy Child Care America Resource LibraryBrought to you by the American Acadamy of Pediatrics, this resource libary is a database with a wealth of resources related to early education and child care. Users are able to search by topic, type of resource, AAP materials, and/or materials for families. Virginia Code ChangeEffective July 1, 2008, the Code of Virginia at § 32.1-37 requires family day homes, child day centers, children’s residential facilities, and child caring institutions licensed by the Department of Social Services to report outbreaks of disease to the health department. The health department defines an outbreak as ‘the occurrence of more cases of a disease than expected.’ This means that any time a facility director feels that more children are ill than is normal, she should call the local health department that serves the city or county in which the facility is located. This could apply to any disease, and there is no set level of disease that needs to be met to be considered an outbreak. The requirement boils down to if the director suspects that an outbreak may be occurring, the local health department should be notified by phone call. The health department will help assess the situation and make recommendations to help prevent the spread of disease. Please cooperate with the health department, provide them the information they request, and realize they are partners with us in protecting the health of the community. F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in AmericaThe report finds disturbing trends in childhood obesity rates. Nearly one third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. Mississippi had the highest rate of obese and overweight children at 44.4 percent. Minnesota and Utah had the lowest rate at 23.1 percent. Eight of the 10 states with the highest rates of obese and overweight children are in the South, as are nine of the 10 states with the highest rates of poverty. Read the Report Other resourcesBright Smiles for Babies: Fluoride Varnish Study of Virginia Early Head Start Children Executive Summary, Summary 2009 (PDF) Strategies for Promoting Prevention and Improving Oral Health Care Delivery in Head Start: Findings from the Oral Health Initiative Evaluation, Volume I: Final Technical Report -- October 1, 2008 (PDF) Sample Individual Care Plan, supplied at the April 2008 meeting (Word doc) Sample Individual Care Plan for a Special Health Condition, supplied at the April 2008 meeting (Word doc) Health Advisory Committee Bylaws, updated 9/2008 (Word doc) Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity: Health & Fitness: Info Memos
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