An Assessment of Nutrition Policies and Practices in Licensed Child Care Agencies in Tennessee

Objective Research was conducted to determine the extent to which a sample of licensed child care agencies in Tennessee met 31 nutrition and food service standards as contained in the National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs and to identify any significant differences by type of agency, USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) participation, and profit status. Design A random sample of 300 licensed child care agencies stratified by type was surveyed by mailed questionnaire composed of 59 open and closed-ended items and five-point Likert-like scaled items. Three primary scores were calculated to describe Performance (with four sub-scores: Snack Time Performance; Infant Feeding Performance; Toddler/Preschooler Feeding Performance; and Mealtime Performance), Written Policies, and Staff and Environment. Statistical Analysis Analyses included frequencies, means, and standard deviations for descriptive data. Significant differences were identified by the Wilcoxon rank sum and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results A total of 53.6% (n=158) respondents returned surveys, of these 93.7% (n=148) were useable. The Performance, Written Policies, and Staff and Environment scores were 86.9, 6.5, and 3.5 (maximum possible points = 100.0, 12.0, and 5.0, respectively). Significant differences were found for type of agency where both family day care homes and group day care homes met the standards included in the Staff and Environment Score better than child day care centers. Participants in CACFP had significantly higher score than nonparticipants for Written Policies and Staff and Environment Scores. Nonparticipants in CACFP had significantly higher scores than participants for the Snack Time sub-score. For profit agencies had significantly higher scores than nonprofit agencies for Staff and Environment. Results indicate that agencies do not always have written polices covering: staffing; food procurement, preparation and service; nutrition education; and menus as recommended in the Guidelines. Nutritionists or Dietitians are consulted infrequently. Applications/Conclusions Results suggest that involvement of Nutritionists or Dietitians, having written nutrition plans and maintaining low child to staff ratios at mealtime are areas that would require some effort to meet the standards. The State Department of Human Services was identified as the primary source of nutrition information therefore, Registered Dietitians at the community level can build partnerships with child care agencies through the Department of Human Services

Oral Health Content of Early Education and Child Care Regulations and Standards

Almost two out of every three U.S. children younger than five receive child care from someone other than their parents. Health promotion in early education and child care (EECC) programs can improve the general health of children and families, but little is known about the role of these programs in oral health. We identified U.S. EECC program guidelines and assessed their oral health recommendations for infants and toddlers

Progress on Childhood Obesity: Many States Show Declines

Obese children are more likely to become obese adults and suffer lifelong physical and mental health problems. Obesity rates in low-income preschoolers, after decades of rising, began to level off from 2003 through 2008 and now are showing small declines in many states. However, too many preschoolers are obese. State and local officials can play a big part in reducing obesity among preschoolers

Analysis of US child care safety regulations.

BACKGROUND: With 1.9 million US children cared for in organized group child care, the safety of these children is a public health concern. In the absence of federal policy, each state has developed its own day care safety regulations. METHODS: After creating a set of 36 criteria from three sets of national guidelines, we assessed the safety regulations of 45 states. With a mailed survey of state day care regulatory personnel, we examined the processes of formulating and implementing safety policy in 47 states. RESULTS: For 24 of the 36 items, more than half the states' regulations were below the criteria or failed to mention the topic. Most notable is the inattention to playground safety, choking hazards, and firearms. CONCLUSION: The uneven quality of regulations may be a reflection of a regulatory process that is fragmented, with many different groups sharing authority and with limited involvement of injury prevention specialists

Child care center policies and practices for management of ill children

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to 1) describe child care staff knowledge and beliefs regarding upper respiratory tract infections and antibiotic indications and 2) evaluate child care staff reported reasons for a) exclusion from child care, b) referral to a health care provider, and c) recommending antibiotics for an ill child. METHODS: A longitudinal study based in randomly selected child care centers in Massachusetts. Staff completed a survey to assess knowledge regarding common infections. For six weeks, staff completed a record of absences each day, describing the reason for an absence, and advice given to the parents regarding exclusion, referral to a health care provider, and obtaining antibiotics. Exclusions for the specific illness/symptom were defined as appropriate or inappropriate based on national guidelines. RESULTS: A large proportion of child care staff incorrectly believed that antibiotics are indicated for bronchitis (80.5%) and green rhinorrhea (80.5%) in children. For 82.2% of absences, the circumstances or reasons for the absence were discussed with a child care staff member. Of 538 absences due to illness that child care staff discussed with parents, there were 45 inappropriate exclusions (8.4% of illnesses discussed), 91 appropriate exclusions (16.9% of illnesses discussed), and 402 cases (74.7%) in which no recommendation for exclusion was made. CONCLUSIONS: Misconceptions regarding the need for antibiotics for URIs are common among child care staff. However, day care staff do not pressure parents to seek medical attention or antibiotics

Public Health Rep

Hepatitis B is a well-documented occupational hazard for health care workers, including both laboratory and nursing personnel. Since the development of effective hepatitis B vaccines, the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee (ACIP) has recommended that health care workers receive the vaccine. In this study, 78 laboratory training programs and 83 nursing training programs were surveyed regarding availability and usage of hepatitis B vaccine. The hepatitis B vaccine was made available to students in 81 percent of the laboratory programs and 23 percent of the nursing programs. In those programs making the vaccine available, only 59 percent of the laboratory programs and 5 percent of the nursing programs reported a high (greater than 75 percent) use by students. Concern about cost and payment for the vaccine was the most common reason (80 percent) noted by laboratory schools that did not have hepatitis B vaccination programs for students. Of the nursing schools that did not have vaccine programs, 58 percent had not yet considered a program. At laboratory schools with vaccination programs, who paid for the vaccine (hospital or school versus student) was among the most important determinants for vaccine usage by students. These findings point out that some laboratory schools and many nursing schools have not applied the ACIP recommendations to their own programs. Educational efforts and creative payment plans for the vaccine are needed to increase the availability and use of hepatitis B vaccine among laboratory and nursing students.1832779PMCnul

Differences In At-Risk Children\u27s Preschool Assessment by Educators\u27 Levels of Education

We determined that significant differences existed between assessment scores of at-risk children taught by assistant teachers with different levels of education using standardized assessments (Teaching Strategies GOLD [TSG] and Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening [PALS]). A 1-way MANOVA indicated that assistant teachers’ level of education was statistically significant at p = .012. Archived pretest and posttest data were collected from TSG and PALS assessment scores of 142 at-risk Prekindergarten 4 children taught by 18 different Prekindergarten 4 lead and assistant teachers at a local Head Start site. We found that irrespective of teachers’ levels of education, the role of assistant teachers should not be underestimated in at-risk children’s learning process. We recommend future studies focus on the role of assistant teachers in the classroom to ascertain whether teacher-child interaction was a factor in this study. Keywords: Lead teacher, Assistant teacher, Levels of education, At-Risk, TSG, PALS

Family Preferences for Childcare in Central Kentucky

Early childhood professionals have established a set list of characteristics that denote a high quality early care and education environment for children under the age of kindergarten, but these may not be the same characteristics that parents consider in the decision-making process. The researcher used survey research to obtain quantitative research data from three hundred and ten participants that live in Central Kentucky and have a child under the age of kindergarten currently in childcare. The participants completed a survey that used a Likert scale from 1 to 4 to rate thirty-six characteristics of childcare programs and were asked to select the three most important characteristics when selecting childcare for their children. The findings of this study are valuable to childcare program directors to help them meet the needs of the families enrolled in their programs and assist them with marketing their childcare program appropriately

LINKS BETWEEN SCHOOL MUSIC CLUBS AND STUDENT ATTENDANCE

The aim of this study was to examine the association of before-school music clubs with school attendance in third- to fifth-grade at one public elementary school in the Pacific Northwest of the United States of America. At the time of the study, this school had a total student population of 516, an approximately 65% free and reduced lunch rate, and one of the lowest reported attendance rates in the district. The before-school music clubs included one 28-member world music Drumming Club that would meet two days a week (Mondays and Tuesdays), as well as one Thursday Choir and one Friday Choir, each of which would meet once a week. Thursday Choir had approximately 30 enrolled students while Friday Choir had approximately 40 enrollments. This action research involved an empirical descriptive design with two components. The first was an analysis of numerical attendance data and the second was a survey with open-ended questions aimed at deriving a deeper understanding of student perceptions of attendance practices. After comparing attendance data of club participants with that of the entire school population, third- to fifth-grade students’ further relationships were investigated. Existing numerical attendance data of third- to fifth-grade students were then compared with club participants’ attendance data. Furthermore, the researcher compared club participants’ school attendance on their club day(s) versus other days of the week. This attendance per day-of-the-week was also compared against the dayof- the-week attendance of non-club participants within third- to fifth-grade students. Results of data analysis indicate that music club participation is linked to school attendance. The anonymous survey administered to club participants explored student perceptions of their school attendance reflecting on (1) their mode of travel to school, (2) what makes it easy or difficult for them to attend school and (3) what they like, dislike and feel about attending school and attending before-school music clubs. While the results of this study are not generalizable, they may be of interest to principals and teachers considering implementing similar clubs at schools with attendance challenges