Healthy Weight in Preschool Children

CMU Public Broadcasting has received a grant from the U. S Department of Agriculture through the Michigan Nutrition Network to conduct what is intended to be a three-year project expanding on its successful “Healthy Weight in Preschool Children.” The initial project, conducted in 2002 – 2004 in partnership with Michigan Community Coordinated Child Care (4C), was part of Sound Partners for Community Health, a program of the Benton Foundation, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

YEAR ONE – PLANNING
CMU Public Broadcasting will work with several partners, including the Michigan Nutrition Network, Michigan State University Extension and the Mid Michigan Community Action Agency, to expand its Sound Partners “Healthy Weight in Preschool Children Project.” CMU Public Broadcasting will:
a) Using social marketing guidelines, conduct research that includes focus groups and interviews to identify barriers to achieving healthy weight in pre-school children specifically among food stamp eligible families
b) Through data from “Kids Count in Michigan,” identify groups of food stamp eligible families in several locations to target for intervention
c) Establish tactics for improving attitudes and behaviors among food stamp eligible adults regarding healthy lifestyles for children
d) Identify and evaluate materials already in existence addressing the issue of healthy lifestyles for children
e) Identify required resources needed to implement the project in Years 2 and 3 (i.e., workshop developers and presenters; television and web production staff; funds for the development, production and distribution of workshop materials and video; production equipment for state-of-the-art television production suitable for national distribution; supplies including video tape and workshop materials; contract services including research faculty, satellite distribution, etc.)
f) Create a timeline for implementation of Years 2 and 3
g) Create an evaluation plan for the project





YEAR TWO – IMPLEMENTATION
Programming -- WCMU-TV will produce several interstitial spots for use with the target audience on television throughout the U.S. Content will provide information and strategies for achieving healthy lifestyles in pre-school children. Initial research indicates there are no interstitial spots currently in the market that focus on childhood obesity and its impact. WCMU’s messages would focus on nutrition, healthy lifestyle, and perhaps, age-appropriate exercise. The spots would be part of WCMU’s regular rotation and would be used indefinitely. The interstitial material would be made available to television stations throughout the nation.

WCMU will re-package and distribute the two documentaries produced for the Sound Partners Project. Distribution might include Community Coordinated Childcare Regional Offices, MSU Extension Programs, Headstart and Evenstart programs, and the Dairy Council, among others.




The website created for the Sound Partners Project would continue and marketing of the site would target food stamp eligible families through Evenstart, WIC, Headstart, FIA, Extension educators and CMU Public Television. Content would continue to be developed that would directly benefit those families and their caregivers. For those families without home access to the Internet, any of those agencies could download and print the website deliverables.

CMU Public Television serves over 55 counties in central and northern Michigan.

Outreach -- More than 340,000 childcare slots exist in Michigan. Many children spend enough of their day in a childcare environment that two of their three daily meals are consumed on site. In many cases, if the majority of their waking hours is spent in that environment, the opportunity for physical activity and exercise is there as well. In an effort to reach and educate child caregivers who work with food stamp eligible families, WCMU will work with Community Coordinated Child Care (4C) and MSU Extension educators throughout our coverage area to offer training in the area of healthy lifestyles for children to child caregivers. 4C conducts regional professional development several times each year for their 2200+ members and for Headstart professionals. WCMU will explore with CMU’s College of Extended Learning the possibility of offering continuing education credits for professional development for workshop participants. Healthy lifestyle materials will be incorporated into the Michigan Department of Education READY Kits that are designed to help families and childcare providers prepare children for school. WCMU will facilitate the printing and distribution of the READY kits free of charge to providers and families eligible for food stamps in the targeted counties. Research will be done to evaluate the use and effectiveness of the kits.

Based on the assessment in Year 1 to establish what materials already exist and how they are being used, new materials focusing on “Healthy Weight in Preschool Children,” designed to appeal to and be understood by food stamp eligible parents and caregivers, will be created in cooperation with the CMU Educational Materials Center. Central Michigan District Health Department and CMU’s College of Health Professions have agreed to oversee the content of the materials. State and national resources would be used to ensure content credibility. CMU Public Television, 4C and The Rural Tele-Health Network have agreed to distribute the materials nationally on their web sites. The District Health Department will distribute the materials to parents bringing children in for immunizations and WIC, and would promote their use statewide. Regional healthcare providers will distribute the materials at well-baby clinics.

YEAR THREE - EVALUATION & ASSESSMENT