Journal of Applied Research on Children: Children’s HealthWatch and others have found that, while food insecurity at both the household and child levels has a negative impact on child health outcomes, other hardships also come into play. These hardships, such as food insecurity, may be modified by participation in public assistance programs. All families, but particularly those who have limited incomes and young children, are constantly juggling the costs of paying for basic needs like food, shelter, household utilities, and medical care. A change in one affects the others; parents, despite the best of intentions, have to make difficult decisions whether to pay for a child’s prescription, buy nutrient-dense food, or allocate scarce financial resources to rent or utility bills. Supports—including housing subsidies, WIC, and energy assistance—can offset some costs and free resources for other needs, in turn allowing parents to do more to promote their children’s food security and health. Link to Journal Article
Tag Archives: health
WIC Participation and Attenuation of Stress-Related Child Health Risks of Household Food Insecurity and Caregiver Depressive Symptoms
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine: Examines how family stressors (household food insecurity and/or caregiver depressive symptoms) relate to child health and whether participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC) attenuates stress-related child health risks. WIC participants were favored over nonparticipants on three child health indicators: 1. Fair/poor health; 2. Well-child status and 3. Overweight. Link to Journal Article
Refugee Portal: Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services (BRYCS)
Refugee Portal: Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services: BRYCS created this portal to ensure that refugees have easy access to multilingual resources. The languages include: Arabic, Burmese, Karen, Nepali, Somali and Spanish. Refugees may click on their language for resources on the topics of family life and parenting, early childhood, the U.S. school system (K-12), children’s books, and health/mental health. English versions of the materials are also available. Link to Portal
Complying With the Fostering Connections Act and Solutions to Address Agency Challenges
| The National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and Technology’s (NRCCWDT’s) issue brief series provides comprehensive technical assistance to States and Tribes on a variety of topics. Two new issues of Tips, Tools, and Trends address the use of data to meet provisions in the Federal Fostering Connections legislation and selecting solutions to adequately address agency challenges.
“Data Considerations for Fostering Connections” is available here: http://www.nrccwdt.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Fostering-Connections-TTT.pdf (550 KB) “Picking Solutions That Work” is available here: http://www.nrccwdt.org/2012/04/tips-tools-and-trends-picking-solutions-that-work/ (608 KB) |
National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being: NSCAW II Wave 2 Report
2012: US Department of Health and Human Services. Administration for Children and Families. Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. The second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II) is a longitudinal study intended to answer a range of fundamental questions about the functioning, service needs, and service use of children who come in contact with the child welfare system. Wave 2 is a follow-up of children and families approximately 18 months after the close of the NSCAW I index investigation. Data collection for the second wave of the study began in October 2009 and was completed in January 2011.
Link to pdf Report
The Michigan Department of Human Services (MDHS) Health Oversight and Coordination Plan
December 7, 2011: In Michigan, the modified settlement agreement, Dwayne B. v. Rick Snyder et al. emphasizes the importance of MDHS monitoring the provision of health services to foster children to determine whether they are of appropriate quality and are having the intended effect. This MDHS Health Oversight and Coordination Plan is developed to establish continuity of health care for children in foster care and to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated treatment approach by all professionals involved in their care.
MDHS is committed to improving the delivery of health care services to children. The Health Oversight and Coordination Plan ensures forward movement to improved health care delivery while an infrastructure is put in place to sustain these efforts and yield an improved health care delivery system that meets the physical and mental health needs of every child in foster care. MDHS will continue to monitor best practices and propose changes to the MDHS health plan when new strategies provide promising outcomes. Link to pdf Plan