Colorado Early Childhood Needs Assessment Released

The Early Childhood Leadership Commission today released the Colorado Early Childhood Needs Assessment to help state and local leaders make data-driven decisions for early childhood systems analysis, strategic planning and service improvements.

The goal of the Colorado Early Childhood Needs Assessment is to accurately describe the current condition of the early childhood population at state and county levels across four specific domains: early learning; family support and parent education; social, emotional and mental health; and health. The risk analysis uses numerous indicators to identify counties as high, moderate or low risk for specific maternal, infant and child outcomes. Also included in the report are snapshots of available supports and services by county to evaluate families’ access to community resources.

“This Assessment will help communities across the state better understand and respond to the needs of families and children with more targeted early childhood supports and services,” said Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia. “Local leaders and early childhood advocates now have a powerful tool to help ensure Colorado’s children are healthy, thriving and ready for school.”

Fifteen counties were identified as “high risk,” 27 counties as “moderate risk” and 22 counties as “low risk” based on 13 key indicators, including infant mortality rate, children in poverty, high school dropouts, juvenile crime and unemployment. The risk analysis provides one critical perspective of the status of local early childhood populations and should be used in conjunction with local expertise in addressing community needs.

“Healthy, educated, well-cared for children are the promise of Colorado’s future,” said Pat Hamill, Early Childhood Leadership Commission Co-Chair and President, Oakwood Homes. “We hope to bring together county and city officials, early childhood professionals, health care providers and community organizations to use this report to dramatically improve the lives of children across this state.”

The Colorado Early Childhood Needs Assessment was conducted in partnership with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as part of the Commission’s grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Colorado Early Childhood Needs Assessment is available at www.colorado.gov/ltgovernor and at www.earlychildhoodcolorado.org.

Answer to hold a series of sexuality education workshops

Answer, a national organization dedicated to providing comprehensive sexuality education in the US, is offering a series of professional development workshops this spring with topics including LGBTQ issues in schools, STD basics, and managing controversy around sexuality education. The series is intended for professionals involved with teaching family life and sexuality education looking to improve their knowledge and practices. The workshops come in three different formats: six-hour online workshops which can be completed at your own pace, one-hour webinars, and four-hour, in-person workshops. Workshop details and fees can be accessed here.

Answer will also be offering a more intensive professional development experience through its TISHE 2.0 week-long institute. This is meant for more experienced professionals who are seeking to enhance delivery of sexuality education in schools and community-based settings. Information about TISHE 2.0 can be found here and will be updated as planning progresses. Questions can be directed to Todd Slawsky, Answer’s Director of Marketing and Administration, at tslawsky@rci.rutgers.edu.

Shared by: Emily Kinsella, Family Planning Administrative Consultant

"What the Health?" - Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Trends and Policies

In this week's episode of CDPHE Prevention Services Division's "What the Health?" we are talking with Susan Motika, PSD Senior Legal Analyst, about national trends with respect to sugar-sweetened beverages.





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Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (Department of Housing and Urban Development)

In case you haven’t already seen this funding announcement -- the Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced the availability of $110 million in grants under the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative to transform public and assisted housing and to revitalize communities.

Eligible applicants are public housing authorities, local governments, nonprofits, tribal entities and for-profit developers that apply jointly with a public entity. Applications must present a plan to revitalize a severely distressed public and/or HUD-assisted multifamily housing project located in a distressed neighborhood into a viable, mixed-income community.

Additional information is available on HUD’s website. For a link to the full funding notice, go to Grants.gov and enter FR-5600-N-19 in the Search by Funding Opportunity Number field. Applications are due April 10, 2012.

Shared by Heather Dubiel, Early Childhood

Teen Driver Deaths Rise: What Colorado can do

The Governors Highway Safety Association’s (GHSA) released a report last week that reveals an 11% increase in teen driver deaths.

This report comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) just released a statistical projection suggesting that total motor vehicle deaths for the first 6 months of 2011 declined 0.9 percent. Read more in the February Traffic Safety Facts.

Although the decline in overall motor vehicle deaths is a positive trend, the increase in driving deaths within the teen population is an alarming trend that requires state action, right now.

The GHSA report was completed by Dr. Allan Williams, a researcher who formerly served as chief scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Dr. Williams attributes much of the increase in teen driver deaths to the fact that the benefit of state Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws may be leveling off. Dr. Williams notes, 

Health Impact Assessment Guides New Development

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment partnered with Tri-County Health Department, the University of Colorado, the City of Glendale, CO and others to conduct a Health Impact Assessment of a new 1-million square-foot entertainment, restaurant and retail complex adjacent to the health department campus.

The team examined the health impacts of this major new development on the ability of Glendale’s resident population -- which includes above-average concentrations of health disparities – and daily employee population of 6,000 to walk, bike and ride the bus safely and easily. The assessment provides practical recommendations to minimize the risks posed by an increase in visitors and traffic, and improve health in Glendale through safer and more inviting walking, biking, access to transit, and connectivity to destinations.

Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a tool to measure the health impacts of policies, projects or programs and offer mitigations to improve public health, particularly for vulnerable populations. HIA is a fast-growing field that helps decision makers examine scientific data, health expertise and public input to identify the potential --- and often overlooked – health effects of proposed new actions.

This HIA was conducted as part of a graduate class at the University of Colorado-College of Architecture and Planning, taught by Gretchen Armijo, Built Environment Coordinator at CDPHE.

Please view and share the powerpoint presentation here

For more information, please contact Matt Cunningham at Tri-County Health Department at mcunningham@tchd.org, or Gretchen Armijo at CDPHE at Gretchen.armijo@state.co.us

CDC’s Public Health Grand Rounds on Million Hearts

CDC’s Public Health Grand Rounds that will take place Tuesday, February 21, 1 – 2 pm ET. Dr. Janet Wright, executive director for Million Hearts, will be joined by a panel of experts. They will examine heart disease and stroke prevention interventions, present Million Hearts activities currently underway in communities such as San Diego and New York City, share public and private sector collaborations, and discuss efforts to unite existing prevention efforts with innovative programs that will ultimately help Americans live longer, healthier, more productive lives.

• Public Health Grand Rounds website (to watch live broadcast): www.cdc.gov/about/grand-rounds/archives/2012/February2012.htm
• February Grand Rounds toolkit (speaker’s toolkit with slides, factsheets, and data that might help facilitate your own discussions about Million Hearts): www.cdc.gov/about/grand-rounds/archives/2012/pdfs/Combined_GR_Toolkit_2.13.pdf

The CDC is also interested in hearing about work at the state and local levels to support this national goal to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes, including efforts in the following areas, such as:

• Programmatic support – trainings, presentations, educational outreach, success stories
• Policy support – supporting environmental and systems changes, evidence for action
• Communications support – media events/releases, conferences, webinars, blogs
• Science – articles, publications, studies
• Evaluation and measurement – data sources, surveys, measurement harmonization initiatives

Those with updates are encouraged to contact Maureen Culbertson (mculbertson@cdc.gov) to share successes or learn more about becoming a Million Hearts partner. You also may visit the Millions Heart website at http://millionhearts.hhs.gov.

"What The Health?" - A new podcast from Prevention Services Division

Welcome to the Prevention Services Division's inaugural podcast of our new series "What The Health?"  This is a trial run that features an interview with Cathy Bledsoe, Project Coordinator with the Colorado Central Cancer Registry.  The podcast explores the Colorado Central Cancer Registry's new Cancer Survivorship Care Plan Project.  Let us know what you think!  Contact Brandon Williams, Public Information Officer with the Prevention Services Division at brandon.williams@state.co.us.

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Lets Move! Child Care State Challenge

Dear Colleagues,

At the Office of Child Care (OCC), we’re continuing to work toward high-quality care for all children. As Deputy Assistant Secretary Linda Smith reminds us, the core of our mission is ensuring children in all child care settings are “safe, healthy, and learning.” Your partnership is essential to achieving our shared goals, which is why I’m hoping you’ll help us spread the word about the Let’s Move! Child Care State Challenge.

The Let’s Move! Child Care (LMCC) initiative was launched by the First Lady with the aim of creating a healthier future for children in early care and education programs. LMCC provides tips, Webinars, and other online resources highlighting goals oriented towards child care providers- including increasingphysical activity, reducing screen time, improving food and beverage choices, and supporting infant feeding.

Let’s Move! Child Care participants can complete an online interactive checklist quiz to assess what quality improvements can be made related to these goals. Providers can create action plans to incorporate into their own programs, and earn a certificate of recognition after completion of the action plan. Several states have created additional incentives connected to LMCC, including linking it to QRIS and professional development. We’ve also received many success stories through the Web site and encourage you to share descriptions of success in your communities with us through the success story page.

We believe in LMCC’s ability to improve the health of children, and OCC and the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) are working together to reach more children and providers through the Lets Move! Child Care State Challenge, a nationwide challenge recognizing states with the highest participation rates in LMCC. All across the country, child care providers are signing up, and the states with the highest percentage of providers participating and the highest percentage of providers completing the program will be recognized at the Weight of the Nation Conference in Washington, DC, this May.

We’re proud to have more than 2,000 providers involved in LMCC, but we believe we can get more providers–and more children–involved in this exciting initiative. I’m asking for your help in spreading the word about the LMCC State Challenge. Please consider passing on the information and links in this message or the flyers available from NACCRRA to providers and early childhood stakeholders you know. Together, we can get one step closer to ensuring the health of all children in child care.

Sincerely,
Shannon L. Rudisill
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Shared by Heather Dubiel, Early Childhood

Targeting Children With Treats

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