Eat Well Play Hard with

Day Care Homes

NYS Department of HealthCACFP

Child Care Wellness Grant

IMPROVING THE NUTRITION AND

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ENVIRONMENT IN CACFP DAY CARE HOMES

Background Concept and DevelopmentImplementation DesignEvaluation DesignTimeline

Background

Eat Well Play Hard Strategies

Established in 1998• Increase intake of

fruits and vegetables (fresh)

• Increase consumption of low fat or fat free milk and dairy products

• Increase developmentally appropriate physical activity

Revised to add• Increase initiation,

duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding

• Decrease screen time

Concept Development

• Drafted White Paper (2007)• Convened external workgroup

(2007-08)• Applied for SNAP-ed funds (FFY

2010 and 2011)• Hired temporary nutritionist to

write curriculum (2009-2010)• Applied for CCWG (2010)

Implementation DesignGoal: To gain the support and

commitment of DCH providers to:

• Improve the nutrition and physical activity practices in their DCHs

• Communicate positive messages about eating healthy food and being physically active to children in care and their families

Day Care Homes

Curriculum

5 Units

Each Unit

Group Workshop

In-the-Home

Lessons

• 4 intervention cycles per year• 6 DCH providers per cycle

• Bi-monthly Lesson Extenders

How the Intervention Works

&

- Handouts - Tool Kit- Parent Newsletter-Resource Materials- Family Event -Lesson Extenders

CCWG Application• Targeted intervention for 288

DCH providers• State Share: Tool kits, Expert

speaker fees• Subcontracts to 4 DCH

Sponsors– Hire Registered Dietitians to

implement project– 12 intervention cycles (24 DCH

each)• Advisory Committee• Social media component• Evaluation component– Pre and post assessments by

Providers and RD’s

CCWG Results• Funded for 2-years• Reduced reach to 192 DCHs• State share reduced• 4 Sponsor contracts with RDs• Reduced completed

intervention cycles to 6 (32 DCHs each)

– Last two cycles are not funded

– Incomplete lesson extenders and post-assessments

Challenges• Delays in Approving Contracts

• Implementation began December 2011• Scheduling problems with DCHs• Drop-outs• Purpose of In-home lessons• RD’s knowledge and skills• My Plate versus My Pyramid• Restrictions on use of Social Media• Evaluation design is limited

Lessons Learned

• Have a “back pocket” idea on hand

• Providers and children love activities

• Expect changes to your implementation design

• Routine technical support is valuable

• Data collection for evaluation is burdensome but necessary

sjr02@health.state.ny.uswww.nyhealth.gov/nutrition

Sandra Rhoades, R.D. M.P.H.CACFP Homes Unit DirectorDivision of NutritionNYS Department of Health518-402-7104