Sharing Web Resources…… Week 4

The information on the Zero to Three website that is particularly relevant to my professional development is Infant and Toddler Policy Issues.  Working in Early Head Start I like to stay current on issues pertaining to health and nutrition. The issue  on the impact of child nutrition programs and provides policy recommendations for the reauthorization of the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) make me view this in a new way (Sklar & Kossen, 2009).  I’ve had experience in both programs and it is interesting to learn the recommendation to better serve families.

Policy Recommendations

1. Revise CACFP area eligibility to allow more food insecure families with infants and toddlers, particularly those living in rural areas, to receive access to nutritious foods.
2. Increase CACFP reimbursements to reflect the actual cost of providing food.
3. Eliminate administrative barriers to participating in child nutrition programs.
4. Increase efficient use of resources by requiring collaboration between WIC agencies and early care and education programs such as Early Head Start.

Through the website, I’ve learned politicians and neuroscientists add to the website by the research.  For instance, there is a section Public Policy where there are different topics where politicians and neuroscientists’ expertise are added to the information. 

                                               

In exploring the website, I’ve learned there is link for state and community policy. This link is for policy decisions made at the state and community levels directly impact the lives of infants, toddlers, and their families.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program

(CACFP), established in 1968, reimburses

family child care providers, child and adult

care centers, Head Start and Early Head Start

providers, and afterschool programs for the

nutritious food served to eligible children, as

well as meal preparation costs and training

for staff on nutrition, child development

as it relates to feeding practices, and

Implementation of the CACFP program (Sklar & Kossen, 2009).

The Special Supplemental Nutrition

Program for Women, Infants and

Children (WIC), begun in 1974, is a federally

authorized program providing economic

supports to purchase nutritionally balanced

foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding

instruction and promotion, nutrition

counseling, and referrals to health and other

social services (Sklar & Kossen, 2009).

Sklar, C., & Kossen, J. (2009, June). Reauthorization of wic and cacafp. Retrieved from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/Nutrition.pdf?docID=9081

Zero to three, national center for infants, toddlers, and families. (2012). Retrieved from http://zerotothree.org/