"The Boston Healthy Child Care Initiative"
Abstract
The Boston Healthy Child Care Initiative (BHCCI) helps child care programs improve their capacity to implement policies and practices that support healthy eating and physical activity. The project links to other evidence-based practices, such as the University of North Carolina, Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) andLet’s Move! Childcare now known as Healthy Kids Healthy Futures. The goal of BHCCI is to promote policy, systems and/or environmental change strategies in child care settings to increase the number of child care providers who:
- Provide access to healthy foods
- Provide access to healthy beverages
- Provide access to physical activity opportunities
- Decrease access to screen time
- Increase opportunities for breastfeeding
The BHCCI Program Components
All Boston center based, and family childcare program educators are invited to attend professional development interactive workshops on best practices for creating healthy childcare policies and environments. Educators receive continuing education credits through Massachusetts Association for Young Children (MASS AEYC), a stipend and a toolkit of resources. The center-based initiative is a learning collaborative and the family child care initiative is a one-day workshop offered in English and in Spanish.
The BHCCI English and Spanish Workshops
Childcare educators complete a self-assessment of their programs’ adherence to best practice standards, using the national Let’s Move Childcare checklists tool. The BHCCI coordinator provides technical assistance visits and assists the educator with developing an action plan of policy, practice, and environmental changes for their program. The program documents policy changes for their program using a Nutrition and Physical Activity Policy form.
The BHCCI Learning Collaborative
This model uses a collaborative method adapted from the Institute for Healthcare Improvements. ECE centers participate in group learning and action planning and have access to technical assistance, tools, materials and resources to aid in their continuous improvement. Information is shared within and between teams to create progress.
Speaker Bio
Sonia Carter, MS, LDN, the Nutrition and Wellness Program Manager at the Boston Public Health Commission provides leadership and management for the Division of Chronic Disease Prevention & Control nutrition education and policy/practice change to support healthy eating in diverse sectors. The primary focus is on obesity and chronic disease prevention, prioritizing racial, ethnic and other inequities in health outcomes through policy system and environment approaches. Sonia leads the division Boston Child Care Initiative Learning Collaborative and Healthy Eating Professional Development Opportunities for Center Based Child Care Centers, Family Day Care and Out of School Time Educators. Prior to the Boston Public Health Commission, Sonia was the Nutrition Coordinator for Action for Boston Community Development INC. (ABCD) Head Start. Sonia directed nutrition and food services for ABCD Head Start programs, with a direct impact on the health and well-being of children and families. Her professional memberships include the Boston Organization of Nutritionists and Dietitians of Color, (BOND of Color) and The Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition. She is a board member of the John Stalker Institute of Food and Nutrition. Sonia has an Early Care and Education Fellowship from the CAYL Institute. She is currently a faculty member at the Urban College of Boston.