Parents Child Care Providers Health Care Professionals Tools & Strategies State-by-State

Early Education and Child Care in Action

E-News for Health Professionals

An electronic newsletter for members of the AAP Section on Early Education and
Child Care and their child care partners

Click here to view past and current issues of E-News




Issue #3, October 2006

1. Message from the Chairperson Elaine Donoghue, MD, FAAP

2. Resources

  • The Medical Home and Early Child Development in Primary Care
  • A Multimedia Program Helps Parents Manage Childhood Aggression
  • New Web site for the The State Early Childhood Comprehensive Initiative
  • Starting Off Right: Promoting Child Development from Birth in State Early Care and Education Initiatives
  • New Research Study: Family Characteristics Have More Influence on Child Development than Child Care
  • Article on Disaster Follow-up: The Real Price of Recovery
  • New AAP Policy Statement: Identifying Infants and Young Children with Developmental Disorder in the Medical Home: An Algorithm for Developmental Surveillance and Screening
  • 2006 KIDS COUNT Data Book: Essay: Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care: Strengthening a Critical Resource to Help Young Children Succeed
  • Report Presents Examples of State Action to Address the Needs of Children Under Age 3

3. Upcoming Events

  • APHA
  • NAEYC
  • NACCRRA
  • AMCHP
  • PAS

4. Funding Opportunity

  • Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds of the Child Care and Development Fund
  • Early Learning Fund

1. Message from the Chairperson Elaine Donoghue, MD, FAAP:

New Members Who Joined in September 2006 are:
Kori B Flower MD, FAAP
Mario Jose Gaspar de Alba MD
Dina Joy Lieser MD, FAAP

This brings our current Section membership to 238.

Survey Update
Thank you to the 140 of you who finished our Section survey online. Initial results have revealed that some of you are most interested in receiving additional information, resources, and opportunities related to improving your knowledge of certain topics, education others about child care health and safety, and participating in child care/health research projects.

This is your last chance to complete the survey. Click here to complete the online survey.

Those who do so will be mailed a copy of the following resources:

Healthy Kids, Healthy Care Booklet
This booklet provides a written summary of key health and safety standards/recommendations. It was developed for parents with children in child care and is actually a written (condensed) version of the Healthy Kids, Health Care Website. Created by the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education, and based on 2002 version of Caring for Our Children, it provides you with a way to look up answers to questions your parents might ask about child care issues. It also identifies how you and parents can work in partnership with child care providers to enhance health and safety practices in child care. This is a "must have" resource for all practitioners and professors!

The Influence of Child Care Health Consultants in Promoting Children's Health and Well-being: A Report on Selected Resources
This Healthy Child Care Consultant Network Support Center (NSC) report presents key findings from a synthesis of 79 published and unpublished resource documents-evaluations, presentations, monographs, etc.-related to health consultation to early care and education programs. This is a "must read" for anyone interested in the field of child care health consultation!

Lastly, if you or another Section member colleague have published an article this year, we would like to know about it so we can share it with others. Please send the reference to childcare@aap.org.

Sincerely,
Elaine Donoghue, MD, FAAP

2. Resources:

The Medical Home and Early Child Development in Primary Care
Dr. Cal Sia, long time early education and child care advocate, has recently published a new monograph: "The Medical Home and Early Child Development in Primary Care, Calvin C J Sia, MD, Lynn B. Wilson, PhD, and Sharon Taba, MEd". This monograph publication explores the relationship between the Medical Home, community systems of services and their role in enhancing early childhood development.

This monograph supports the idea that all the professionals who work with young children play a part in ensuring their development. It explores the concept of community involvement, but reminds all to include the child's primary care provider to protect the effectiveness of the medical home. Systems created to enhance early childhood development created outside of coordination with the primary care physician will not be effective. This monograph will be helpful as these new systems are developed, and can be used by members of the PSOEECC, especially in their work at the state level and with the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems initiatives.

For additional information, click here:

A Multimedia Program Helps Parents Manage Childhood Aggression: Scholer SJ, Cherry R, Garrard H., Gupta AO, Mace, R, White, N
Childhood aggression is one of the most common concerns of preschool teachers. We have been researching how to help teach parents, health care professionals, and childcare workers how to manage childhood aggression. This study found that a brief program can help parents manage aggression in their child one year after receiving the intervention. This article suggests that there is promise for population-based programs that address one of the strongest risk factors for violence.

Click here to read the full article.

New Web site for the The State Early Childhood Comprehensive Initiative
A new Web site has been developed to introduce the State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) initiatives to those who want to know more about this effort. The Web site also serves as a one-stop resource for State ECCS grantees.

For more information, click here.

Starting Off Right: Promoting Child Development from Birth in State Early Care and Education Initiatives
Starting Off Right: Promoting Child Development from Birth in State Early Care and Education Initiatives provides strategies some states use to improve early care and education for infants and toddlers, and provides support to those families. Despite compelling evidence of the importance of child development from birth, a clear state early care and education policy agenda that addresses infants and toddlers is still emerging. This paper provides illustrative state examples of specific policies to promote child development from birth to 3, as well as ideas for state funding and governance structures that provide attention and resources for all children birth to age 5.

For additional information, click here.

New Research Study: Family Characteristics Have More Influence on Child Development than Child Care
A compendium of findings from a study funded by the National Institutes of Health reveals that a child's family life has more influence on their development than their experience in child care.

"This study shows only a slight link between child care and child development," said Duane Alexander, MD, Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the NIH component that funded the study. "Child care clearly matters to children's development, but family characteristics -- and children's experiences within their families -- appear to matter more."

Key findings are that:

  • Children who received higher quality child care were better able to think, respond, and interact with the world around them -- and had somewhat better reading and math skills -- than children who received lower quality child care.
  • Children who spent 30 or more hours each week in child care showed more problem behaviors in child care and in kindergarten (but not at home) and had more episodes of minor illness than children who spent fewer hours in child care each week.
  • Children who attended child care centers had somewhat better language and social skills and better pre-academic skills involving letters and numbers, but showed more problem behaviors when they first entered school than did children who participatedin other types of child care settings.
  • Parent and family features were two to three times more strongly linked to child development than was child care during the preschool years.
  • Children did better when parents were more educated, when families' incomes were higher, when mothers had fewer or no symptoms of depression, and when families had well organized routines, books, and play materials, and took part in learning activities.

Click here to read more about the study and its findings. For additional information about this study contact Robert Bock or Marianne Glass Miller, 301-496-5133, bockr@mail.nih.gov.

Article on Disaster Follow-up: The Real Price of Recovery - Washington Post
By: Mark K. Shriver
The slow pace of the Gulf Coast recovery after Hurricane Katrina has made global headlines. While many still find fault and much has been made about what could have been done after the storm, one critical factor in the region's recovery and a return to normal for everyone is not receiving the attention it is due. The essential element is safe, reliable, high-quality child care, which is truly early childhood education.

Click here to read the full article.

New AAP Policy Statement: Identifying Infants and Young Children with Developmental Disorder in the Medical Home: An Algorithm for Developmental Surveillance and Screening.
The Council on Children With Disabilities, Section on Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, Bright Futures Steering Committee and Medical Home Initiatives for Children With Special Needs Project Advisory Committee developed a policy statement on developmental surveillance and screening.

Abstract: Early identification of developmental disorders is critical to the well-being of children and their families. It is an integral function of the primary care medical home and an appropriate responsibility of all pediatric health care professionals. This statement provides an algorithm as a strategy to support health care professionals in developing a pattern and practice for addressing developmental concerns in children from birth through 3 years of age. The authors recommend that developmental surveillance be incorporated at every well-child preventive care visit.

Pediatricians can be most efficient when implementing the recommendations in this policy if they remember to ask parents, "Who cares for your child during the day" and "Has your child's caregiver or child care provider brought any conerns to your attention?"

Click here to view the policy statement.

2006 KIDS COUNT Data Book: Essay: Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care: Strengthening a Critical Resource to Help Young Children Succeed
Since 1990, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has released an annual, updated KIDS COUNT Data Book to report on the well-being of America's children. This year, the focus of the essay in this booklet was on improving early childhood development opportunities for young children living in low-income neighborhoods so that more of these kids will start school healthy and prepared to learn and succeed. In particular, the focus is on child care. Although parents are and always will be their children's primary caregivers and teachers, the importance of quality child care and its influence on early childhood learning are well established.
Click here to view the Essay.

Report Presents Examples of State Action to Address the Needs of Children Under Age 3
Starting Off Right: Promoting Child Development from Birth in State Early Care and Education Initiatives seeks to support state leaders who endeavor to develop early care and education policies that support child development from birth. The report, published by the Center for Law and Social Policy, provides background data on infants and toddlers and their participation in early care and education; outlines a framework and highlights state examples of both policy initiatives to promote child development from birth to age 3 and state governance and funding strategies to support birth-to-3 policies; suggests key steps and considerations for state leaders; and discusses emerging themes that cut across birth-to-3 early care and education policy issues. A list of primary contacts for state examples is also included.

Click here for the full report, an executive summary, and additional resources.

 

3. Upcoming Events:

American Public Health Association (APHA) 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition
November 4-8, 2006, Boston, MA

  • "Reducing the Risk of SIDS in Child Care Evaluation Project: Lessons Learned". 4049.0, From Research to Action: Reducing Perinatal Mortality and SIDS Risks in Multiple Settings, Tuesday, November 7, 2006 at 8:30 AM. Presented by Rachel Moon, MD, FAAP and Trisha Calabrese.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Annual Conference and Expo
November 7-11, 2006, Atlanta, GA

  • Thursday, November 9, 2006, 1:00 to 2:00 pm
    Health and Safety Tools: Updating Your Program Policy
    Presenters: Laura Aird and Barbara Hamilton
  • An Afternoon with the AAP November 10, 2006 1pm-5pm
    • Cutting Edge News
    • Fighting the War on Germs: Spit Happens!
    • Emerging Practices and Practical Realities
      Presenters: Susan Aronson, MD, FAAP; CDR Timothy Shope, MD, MPH, FAAP, and Debby Cryer, PhD

National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies Annual Policy Symposium
February 27- March 3, 2007, Washington, DC
We are pleased to announce that the Reducing the Risk of SIDS in Child Care Evaluation Project abstract has been accepted! Details to follow.

Pediatrics Academic Society Annual Meeting
May 5-8, 2007, in Toronto, Canada

  • Abstracts are due December 5, 2006


4. Funding Opportunity:

Two grants are available from the Federal Agency below:

Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services

Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds of the Child Care and Development Fund

  • Objectives:
    To make grants to States, Tribes, and tribal organizations for child care assistance for low-income families and to:
    (1) allow each State maximum flexibility in developing child care programs and policies that best suit the needs of children and parents within such State
    (2) promote parental choice to empower working parents to make their own decisions on the child care that best suits their family's needs
    (3) encourage States to provide consumer education information to help parents make informed choices about child care
    (4) assist States to provide child care to parents trying to achieve independence from public assistance
    (5) assist States in implementing the health, safety, licensing, and registration standards established in State regulations.

For more information, click here.

Early Learning Fund

  • Objectives:
    To increase the availability of voluntary programs, services, and activities that support early childhood development, increase parent effectiveness, and promote the learning readiness of young children to enter school ready to learn. To support parents, child care providers, and caregivers wanting to incorporate early learning activities into the daily lives of young children. To remove barriers to the provision of an accessible system of early childhood learning programs in communities throughout the United States. To increase the availability and affordability of professional development activities and compensation for caregivers and child care providers. To facilitate the development of community-based systems of collaborative service delivery models characterized by resource sharing and linkages among the appropriate support groups and services for local planning.

For more information, click here.


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