Resources

In the News

• New Resources
• Additional Resources

HealthCheck Resources

• DC Periodicity Schedule
• Billing Manual (External Link)
• A-Z Index of Resources
• Standard Medical Record Forms (SMRFs)

DC Resources

• DC Contacts
• DC PICHQ
• Developmental Delays Directory
• Additional DC Resources

General Pediatric Resources

• Agencies/Organizations
• Cultural/Linguistic Competence
• Curricula
• Documentation
• Family-Centered Care
• Glossary
• Healthy People 2010
• Immunizations
• Periodicity
• Screening Materials

National Medicaid/ EPSDT Resources

• Requirements
• Services
• Policy
• Data
• Medicaid Materials

Family Resources

• Bright Futures Materials
• Educational Materials
• Websites

Go To Training »

Recently in the News: 2011 September 2011 September 2011 September 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

Additonal Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008

December 2011

• Medical Home Innovations: Where Do Adolescents Fit? presents a picture of how the medical home model has addressed adolescents (ages 12 to 21) and how their unique health care needs are -- and are not -- being incorporated into transformation activities. The issue brief, published by the National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health, is based on interviews with senior leaders from 12 medical home programs across the United States comprising public, private, and multi-stakeholder initiatives. Topics include efforts to enhance client-provider relationships and strengthen client engagement, the use of physician-led teams, the principle of whole-person orientation, care coordination or integration across the health care system and the client's community, evaluation to assess effectiveness, enhanced access to care, and payment for excellence.
• Maternal and Child Health Epidemic-Assistance Investigations, 1946-2005, describes patterns of selected maternal, infant, or child health epidemic-assistance investigations (Epi-Aids) performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff and Epidemic Intelligence Service officers. The article, published in the supplement to the December 1, 2011, issue of the Journal of Epidemiology, draws from an analysis of 1,969 maternal, infant, or child health-related Epi-Aids (comprising 43.9 percent of all Epi-Aids for which investigations were initiated during 1946-2005). The analysis is organized into seven sections: (1) unintended pregnancy and pregnancy among adolescents, (2) reproductive health surveys, (3) elimination of maternal mortality from abortion in the United States, (4) pregnancy-associated morbidity and mortality, (5) unexpected increases or clusters of disease among infants, (6) Reye syndrome, and (7) child cancer and birth defects. The authors describe patterns of Epi-Aids, illustrative investigations, and, when possible, the public health impact of the Epi-Aids.
• CHIP Dental Coverage: An Examination of State Oral Health Benefit Changes as a Result of CHIPRA examines the benefits and coverage limits of states that have voluntarily sought and received federal approval for their Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) dental benefits before federal regulations have been released. The brief was written by staff of the National Academy for State Health Policy in collaboration with the Children's Dental Health Project and published by the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Policy Center with support from the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau. In addition to examining changes in benefits and coverage limitations, the brief reviews states' procedures for allowing children to obtain services beyond any stated benefit maximums. Topics include dental coverage before the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA); CHIPRA's oral health requirements; state-defined benefit packages; covered benefits; benefit limits, exceptions, and prior authorization requirements; benefit limits and orthodontics; dental-only supplemental coverage; and trends in and possible rationale for benefit package selection. The brief concludes with a table containing selected information on states with approved state plan amendments.
• The supplement to the December 2011 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine addresses various facets of blood disorders and public health. The supplement was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through a cooperative agreement with the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research. In the introduction, the authors propose a public health framework for rare diseases based on an adaptation of the 10 essential services for public health to specifically address rare conditions that affect relatively small numbers of people and are often neglected in public health programs. The need for population surveillance along with the logistical challenges in carrying it out in a sustainable manner is the focus of two papers in the supplement. Additional topics include access to care and barriers to access, health outcomes for males with hemophilia, educating and empowering people with rare disorders along with their family members and primary care providers, sickle cell trait screening policy issues, and the effects of sickle cell disease on disability (for example, restrictions in participation at school or work).

November 2011

• American Academy of Pediatrics Updates Policy on SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released two new resources to help pediatricians and others reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and sleep-related suffocation, asphyxia, and entrapment among infants in the general population. The policy statement and accompanying technical report, titled SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Expansion of Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleep Environment, were published in Pediatrics online on October 17, 2011.
  
  The policy statement addresses 18 recommendations intended for parents, health professionals, and others who care for infants. Four of the recommendations are also directed toward health policymakers, researchers, and professionals who care for or work on behalf of infants. In addition, because certain behaviors, such as smoking, can increase infants' risk for sleep-related death, some recommendations are directed toward women who are pregnant or may become pregnant in the near future.
  
  The recommendations described in the policy statement include the following: * Supine positioning * Use of a firm sleep surface * Breastfeeding * Room-sharing without bed-sharing * Routine immunizations * Consideration of using a pacifier * Avoidance of soft bedding, overheating, and exposure to tobacco smoke, alcohol, and illicit drugs.
• Using Geographic Information to Target Health Disparities: State Experience, an issue brief prepared by Thomson Reuters for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, examines states' strategic use of data for reducing health disparities. It describes how Virginia and Rhode Island analyzed race and ethnicity data and targeted interventions to specific locations.
  
  The first part of the brief explores how Virginia coupled geographic information systems (GIS) mapping with multilevel spatial analysis to identify areas where infant mortality rates are highest, the extent of racial and ethnic disparities in infant deaths, the underlying causes of those infant deaths, and how to best intervene.
  
  Next, the authors discuss Rhode Island's use of GIS mapping in conjunction with community-based participatory research to address health disparities connected to tobacco-related diseases and lead poisoning. They explain how the technique helped the state locate communities where the most disparities exist, identify how multiple factors are causing the problem, and allocate resources for selected interventions.
• Parent-Provider-Community Partnerships: Optimizing Outcomes for Children with Disabilities, a clinical report published in the October 2011 issue of Pediatrics, explores the challenges of developing effective community-based systems of care and offers suggestions for pediatricians and policymakers to maximize the health and well-being of these children and their families. Topics include the need for medical homes for children, transitional care for adolescents and young adults, promoting parents' health and well-being, support for siblings, financial support for parents, high-quality care outside the home, community participation, and universal implementation of coordinated systems of care. The authors conclude with suggestions for pediatricians and policymakers on the development of partnerships among children with disabilities, their families, and health professionals and other providers.
• How Does Growth in Health Care Costs Affect the American Family is a research brief published by the RAND Corporation that presents health care costs as one of the most important challenges of our time. Combining data from multiple sources, the report depicts the effects of rising costs on the disposable income of an American family. The brief is one in a series of RAND research briefs that present summaries of published, peer-reviewed documents.
  
  Topics include how components of family health care spending changed between 1999 and 2009 and the effects of different rates of health care cost growth on a family's monthly net income in 2009 compared with 1999. The authors describe the effect of health care cost growth on family finances using different scenarios. They also discuss what Americans are getting in return and the ways in which Americans pay for health care.
• Collaboration and Action to Improve Child Health Systems: Toolkit for State Leaders provides an approach to mapping the child health system in a state so state leaders can better envision the flow of services and funding that support access to care for children and families and identify opportunities for improvement.
  
  The toolkit, published by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, contains system diagrams and discussion questions on the following topics: the Title V agency role in ensuring child health; Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Program (EPSDT) mandates on collaboration and outreach to families; medical and dental homes; EPSDT screening visits; linkages, case management, and care coordination; care for children with special needs; Medicaid managed care; and public-private and interagency collaboration. Sample scenarios are provided to guide discussion, as well as tips on designing and facilitating a state leadership workshop.

October 2011

• American Academy of Pediatrics Updates Policy on SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released two new resources to help pediatricians and others reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and sleep-related suffocation, asphyxia, and entrapment among infants in the general population. The policy statement and accompanying technical report, titled SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Expansion of Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleep Environment, were published in Pediatrics online on October 17, 2011.
  
  The policy statement addresses 18 recommendations intended for parents, health professionals, and others who care for infants. Four of the recommendations are also directed toward health policymakers, researchers, and professionals who care for or work on behalf of infants. In addition, because certain behaviors, such as smoking, can increase infants' risk for sleep-related death, some recommendations are directed toward women who are pregnant or may become pregnant in the near future.
  
  The recommendations described in the policy statement include the following: * Supine positioning * Use of a firm sleep surface * Breastfeeding * Room-sharing without bed-sharing * Routine immunizations * Consideration of using a pacifier * Avoidance of soft bedding, overheating, and exposure to tobacco smoke, alcohol, and illicit drugs.
• Using Geographic Information to Target Health Disparities: State Experience, an issue brief prepared by Thomson Reuters for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, examines states' strategic use of data for reducing health disparities. It describes how Virginia and Rhode Island analyzed race and ethnicity data and targeted interventions to specific locations.
  
  The first part of the brief explores how Virginia coupled geographic information systems (GIS) mapping with multilevel spatial analysis to identify areas where infant mortality rates are highest, the extent of racial and ethnic disparities in infant deaths, the underlying causes of those infant deaths, and how to best intervene.
  
  Next, the authors discuss Rhode Island's use of GIS mapping in conjunction with community-based participatory research to address health disparities connected to tobacco-related diseases and lead poisoning. They explain how the technique helped the state locate communities where the most disparities exist, identify how multiple factors are causing the problem, and allocate resources for selected interventions.
• Parent-Provider-Community Partnerships: Optimizing Outcomes for Children with Disabilities, a clinical report published in the October 2011 issue of Pediatrics, explores the challenges of developing effective community-based systems of care and offers suggestions for pediatricians and policymakers to maximize the health and well-being of these children and their families. Topics include the need for medical homes for children, transitional care for adolescents and young adults, promoting parents' health and well-being, support for siblings, financial support for parents, high-quality care outside the home, community participation, and universal implementation of coordinated systems of care. The authors conclude with suggestions for pediatricians and policymakers on the development of partnerships among children with disabilities, their families, and health professionals and other providers.
• How Does Growth in Health Care Costs Affect the American Family is a research brief published by the RAND Corporation that presents health care costs as one of the most important challenges of our time. Combining data from multiple sources, the report depicts the effects of rising costs on the disposable income of an American family. The brief is one in a series of RAND research briefs that present summaries of published, peer-reviewed documents.
  
  Topics include how components of family health care spending changed between 1999 and 2009 and the effects of different rates of health care cost growth on a family's monthly net income in 2009 compared with 1999. The authors describe the effect of health care cost growth on family finances using different scenarios. They also discuss what Americans are getting in return and the ways in which Americans pay for health care.
• Collaboration and Action to Improve Child Health Systems: Toolkit for State Leaders provides an approach to mapping the child health system in a state so state leaders can better envision the flow of services and funding that support access to care for children and families and identify opportunities for improvement.
  
  The toolkit, published by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, contains system diagrams and discussion questions on the following topics: the Title V agency role in ensuring child health; Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Program (EPSDT) mandates on collaboration and outreach to families; medical and dental homes; EPSDT screening visits; linkages, case management, and care coordination; care for children with special needs; Medicaid managed care; and public-private and interagency collaboration. Sample scenarios are provided to guide discussion, as well as tips on designing and facilitating a state leadership workshop.

September 2011

• The National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation has launched a new Promising Practices in Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Program to recognize emerging and promising programs or policies in MCH, promote program replication and new collaborations, and create a dedicated space where health plans and other MCH leaders can share their success stories with peers. Through the new project, NIHCM has joined eight other national professional organizations, including the Academy of Pediatrics, the American Bar Association, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Family Voices, Grantmakers in Health, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Governors Association, in helping members make well-informed decisions on matters impacting the health and health care of mothers and children. On a quarterly basis, one promising practices submission will be selected and highlighted in a fact sheet designed and produced by NIHCM. More information about NIHCM's program, including how to submit a promising practice, is available at http://www.nihcm.org/maternal-child-and-adolescent-health/promising-practices
• The National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center has produced two online tutorials designed to enhance the quality of social and health services delivered to children who are abandoned or at risk of abandonment owing to the presence of drugs and/or HIV in their families. The tutorials include the following:
  
  • Women and Children with HIV/AIDS (69 minutes) is designed as an introduction to the complex issues associated with HIV/AIDS among women and children in the United States.
  • Substance Use During Pregnancy (54 minutes) provides an overview of the prevalence and nature of substance use among pregnant women in the United States, including factors that often contribute to substance use.
  More information, including information about continuing education units, is available at http://aia.berkeley.edu/training/tutorials/onlinetutorials.php
• The supplement to the September 2011 issue of Pediatrics presents the work and thinking of Focus on a Fitter Future, a multidisciplinary workgroup comprising 15 children's hospitals convened by the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) to develop guidance, new understanding, and consensus for a coordinated medical approach to childhood obesity. The supplement was produced with financial support from NACHRI, Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Arkansas Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Children's Medical Center Dallas, Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, Doernbecher Children's Hospital at the Oregon Health and Science University, Duke University Hospital and Health System, Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, Mattel Children's Hospital, University of California Los Angeles, Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Seattle Children's, Children's Hospital (Denver), and University of Virginia Children's Hospital. The articles in the supplement represent the work of seven subcommittees organized by interest area, including healthy hospital environment, assessment in pediatric obesity-management programs, long-term client care and family engagement, bariatric surgery, outreach to primary care providers, reimbursement and payment, and sustainability and return on investment. The methods section in each article indicates whether the authors collected data or opinion from sources outside the 15 participating hospitals. The supplement is available athttp://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/128/Supplement_2.toc
• Collaboration and Action to Improve Child Health Systems: Toolkit for State Leaders provides an approach to mapping the child health system in a state so state leaders can better envision the flow of services and funding that support access to care for children and families and identify opportunities for improvement. The toolkit, published by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, contains system diagrams and discussion questions on the following topics: the Title V agency role in ensuring child health; Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Program (EPSDT) mandates on collaboration and outreach to families; medical and dental homes; EPSDT screening visits; linkages, case management, and care coordination; care for children with special needs; Medicaid managed care; and public-private and interagency collaboration. Sample scenarios are provided to guide discussion, as well as tips on designing and facilitating a state leadership workshop. The toolkit is available at http://mchb.hrsa.gov/programs/collaboration/child_health_took_kit.pdf

August 2011

• New: Child Health Toolkit. Based on the questions and discussions from 18 State Leadership Workshops, convened in 14 states and Puerto Rico, an MCHB-HRSA toolkit has been prepared to help other states assess their status, work on systems change, and develop effective interagency approaches to finance and delivery of child health services.
• "Health of adolescents and young adults: Trends in achieving the 21 critical national health objectives by 2010," an article published in the August 2011 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, examines progress in achieving 21 critical national health objectives (CNHO) for adolescents and young adults, as part of the Healthy People 2010 development process to address the most significant threats to the health of young people ages 10-24.
  
  The CNHOs address six areas: mortality, unintentional injury, violence, substance use and mental health, reproductive health, and chronic disease. The study examined whether health outcomes and behaviors had improved, worsened, or remained unchanged from 1991 to 2009 and from the baseline year for which the 2010 target was established. The study also assessed the extent to which each 2010 target was achieved since its respective baseline year. The authors found that young people:
• made progress in achieving 12 CNHOs (rode with a driver who had drunk alcohol, physical fighting, pregnancies, seatbelt use, sadness among children with disabilities, tobacco use, weapon carrying in school, suicide attempts, binge drinking, marijuana use, alcohol-related motor vehicle crash (MVC) mortalities, and suicides);
• made mixed progress in achieving 2 CNHOs (overall mortality, homicides);
• made no progress in achieving 4 CNHOs (sexual behavior, mental health treatment, physical activity, MVC deaths); and
• regressed in achieving 2 CNHOs (chlamydia infections; overweight and obesity)

• "Children with at least the recommended number of EPSDT visits in the first 2 years of life had fewer ... [emergency department] visits in the first 6 years than children with fewer than the recommended number," states the author of "Well-child care in infancy and emergency department use by South Carolina Medicaid children birth to 6 years old," an article published in the August 2011 issue of the Southern Medical Journal.
  
  The EPSDT (early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment) or Medicaid well-child benefit provides all age-based preventive care recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), screening procedures to facilitate normal development, and parental anticipatory guidance. AAP recommends a widely accepted standard of care including six EPSDT visits in the first year of life and three in the second year.
  
  Receipt of the recommended number of well-child visits by children enrolled in Medicaid in the first year of life has been associated with reduced use of emergency department services in the second year for illnesses routinely treated in an ambulatory care office setting.

July 2011

• Hunger and Obesity: Understanding a Food Insecurity Paradigm, published by National Academies Press in June, is the summary report of a workshop held by the Institutes of Medicine in November 2010. The workshop explored the relationship between food insecurity and obesity, and reviewed the state of current as well as needed research on the relationship between hunger and obesity in the United States.
• Trends in the prevalence of developmental disabilities in US children -- 1997-2008, an article published in Pediatrics online on May 23, 2011, concludes that the number of children with developmental disabilities has increased over the decade from 1997-2008. (Specific conditions assessed were ADHD, cerebral palsy, autism, seizures, stammering or stuttering, mental retardation, moderate to profound hearing loss, blindness, learning disorders, and other developmental delays).
  
  The authors found an overall prevalence of developmental disabilities of 13.87 percent, and that children insured by Medicaid had nearly twice the reported rate of developmental disabilities as children covered by private insurance. Further, family incomes below the federal poverty level and maternal education of less than a college degree were both associated with a higher prevalence of developmental disabilities. The report provides details on the growing prevalence of each of the surveyed conditions over time, and concludes that "more detailed study of the influence of risk factor shifts, changes in acceptance, and benefits of early services is needed to better understand why these shifts have occurred."
• Addressing Coverage Challenges for Children Under the Affordable Care Act is a brief, published by the Urban Institute, that draws attention to children with complex coverage situations who might require special attention under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The authors begin with a summary of ACA coverage (Medicaid expansion, health insurance exchanges, market reforms, federal subsidies, individual requirements to obtain coverage) and the implications for children. The analysis provides estimates of the number of children in several scenarios and identifies groups of children that warrant special consideration as regulations are developed and the ACA is implemented. Topics include dependent employer-sponsored insurance coverage issues, family eligibility issues in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, and children with absent parents.
  
• The May 2011 special issue of the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science examines the needs of disadvantaged young fathers and the challenges they face in raising and supporting their children. The issue includes articles on economic and family life for young fathers; comments on culture, race, and family functioning and long-term relationships; and policy papers on child support policy, work training and transition issues, incarceration, family functioning/relationships/parenting and income-support policy. The content is based on a conference organized by the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• SPECIAL NOTICE: NEW AND IMPROVED CRIB SAFETY STANDARDS. Beginning on June 28, 2011, all manufacturers or sellers of infant cribs will be required to meet new and improved crib safety standards approved by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Information on the new crib regulations and standards, recalls and product safety news and other resources (e.g. posters, publications and videos) are available from CPSC's Crib Information Center.

June 2011

• After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools was created jointly by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center as a toolkit for schools facing real-time crises. It provides information on how to deal with loss in a school community, and how to promote a coordinated response, incorporating relevant existing material and research findings as well as references, templates, and links to additional information and assistance.
  
  The toolkit addresses topics including crisis response, helping students cope, working with the community, memorialization, social media, suicide contagion, bringing in outside help, and going forward. Its ultimate purpose is to increase the number of school programs designed to address serious childhood and adolescent distress and prevent suicide.
• Online Services for Key Low-Income Benefit Programs: What States Provide Online with Respect to SNAP, TANF, Child Care Assistance, Medicaid, and CHIP is a paper published by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities that presents links to information about five state-run programs for families with low incomes. The paper indicates which states publish benefit program applications online, and which states offer services online (including online policy manuals, printable applications, eligibility screener-calculators, application status and benefit renewal, updating information or reporting changes, viewing account information, and program data).
• Unintended pregnancy and perinatal depression trajectories in low-income, high-risk Hispanic immigrants, an article published in Prevention Science online on May 3, 2011, investigates the association between unintended pregnancy and depressive symptoms. Unintended pregnancy has been associated with perinatal depression in cross-sectional studies, but no known longitudinal studies exist in which temporality can be determined. Establishing the temporal relationship between unintended pregnancy and perinatal depression has important clinical and public health implications for communication messaging and the timing of and responsibility for depression screening. The secondary analysis used data from Mamas y Bebes: Proyecto del Estado de Animo y la Salud (Mothers and Babies: Mood and Health Project), a randomized controlled trial of a preventive intervention for perinatal depression. Participants were recruited from two prenatal care clinics serving clients with low incomes in an urban setting. Women were eligible for enrollment if they were aged 18-35, Hispanic, at no more than 24 weeks' gestation, and at high risk for major depressive episodes in the perinatal period but not currently depressed.
  
• Health in Underserved Women is the theme of the May 11, 2011 issue of the AHRQ online journal Health Care Innovations Exchange. It describes programs and tools for women who have difficulty accessing and using health care services, and was designed to assist health professionals and others working to address the needs of medically underserved women (i.e. rural or geographically remote, physically or mentally disabled, low-literacy, minority, or foreign-language, low-income, homeless, elderly, lesbian, migrant-worker, immigrant, or refugee). Resources include detailed spotlights of three successful programs, HRSA-developed tools on physical activity and healthy eating, a Women's Wellness Guide developed by the Pennsylvania Commission for Women, and an article on delivering preventive services through clinical and community linkages.
• Term pregnancy: A period of heterogenous risk for infant mortality, an article published in the June 2011 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, concludes that early-term (37- and 38-week) births are associated with significantly higher neonatal and infant mortality rates than later-term births (39 through 41 weeks of gestation). Term pregnancy, defined as 37 through 41 weeks of gestation, is generally regarded as a period of homogeneous pregnancy risk, but the authors point to limited data suggesting some variability by gestation week. "Because 40 weeks of gestation has the lowest infant mortality rates across all race and ethnicities, it should be regarded as the optimal gestational age to use as a control group rather than analyzing infants born over the entire term period [37-41 weeks]," the authors conclude.
  
  The article also examines gestational-term to mortality trends with maternal racial and ethnic differences, and explores the causes of neonatal and postneonatal mortality for early-term and full-term births by maternal race and ethnicity. The authors note that despite improvements in overall neonatal, postneonatal, and infant mortality rates across the term period in the past decade, unacceptable disparities in infant mortality remain for non-Hispanic blacks.

May 2011

• Family Violence Prevention and Health Practice, an e-journal published by the Family Violence Prevention Fund, focused its spring 2011 issue on home visiting as an intervention and prevention strategy for domestic violence. The journal looks at how intimate partner violence (IPV) affects children's health, what is known about the impact of home visiting programs on IPV, research on home visiting interventions to address IPV, and recommendations for translating research into policy and practice. Additional topics include lessons learned from the implementation and field testing of an innovative home visiting program (Domestic Enhanced Visitation Intervention) and suggestions for home visiting programs on addressing the safety and developmental needs of children exposed to violence. The e-journal also provides new resources on domestic violence for home visiting programs, including a curriculum, safety cards, a quality-improvement/quality-assessment tool, a guide for policymakers, and recommendations for policy and program development.
• Achieving a State of Healthy Weight: A National Assessment of Obesity Prevention Terminology in Child Care Regulations, a report developed by the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education with support from the U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau, examines the degree to which key obesity-prevention concepts are reflected in states' child care regulations. The content is based on an examination of documents for licensed child care centers, large or group family child care homes, and small family child care homes. The data comprise 6,826 individual ratings from 118 state documents consisting of all states' ratings of 47 variables for each type of child care facility that is regulated. A variety of charts and graphs illustrate the findings nationally and by content area (infant feeding, nutrition, physical activity). Outcomes for states and recommendations are also included.
  
• Health Literacy Interventions and Outcomes: An Updated Systematic Review examines health care services use and health outcomes related to differences in health literacy level and interventions designed to improve these outcomes for individuals with low health literacy. Disparities in health outcomes and effectiveness of interventions among different sociodemographic groups are also examined. The report updates a 2004 systematic review published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and is based on research conducted by the RTI International/University of North Carolina Evidence-Based Practice Center. The researchers define health literacy to include the ability to interpret documents (print literacy), use quantitative information (numeracy), and speak and listen effectively (oral literacy).
• The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families is a report published in the April 2011 issue of Pediatrics that examines the benefits and risks of children and adolescents using websites that allow social interaction (social media) and how pediatric health professionals and families can better understand and deal with issues, whether they take place online, offline, or both. The report looks at the use of social media by preadolescents and adolescents for socializing and communicating, enhancing learning opportunities, and accessing health information. The authors also explore topics such as: cyberbullying and online harassment, sexting, and the phenomenon called "Facebook depression"; privacy concerns; and the influence of third-party advertising. Further, the report provides specific ways that pediatric health professionals can support parents' efforts, including offering anticipatory media guidance and diagnosing media-related issues, should they arise.
• Improving the Lives of Young Children: Meeting Parents' Health and Mental Health Needs Through Medicaid and CHIP So Children Can Thrive, produced by the Urban Institute, is the fourth in a series of briefs examining Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program policy choices that affect young children's development. The brief discusses the delivery to parents and families of health services needed to support young children's development. After addressing the reasons that two-generational services matter, the Medicaid policy framework, and the changes that health reform will bring, the authors focus on three policy opportunities for states: increasing Medicaid coverage among eligible parents of young children, increasing service receipt among parents, and increasing receipt of family-based services when children are Medicaid-eligible but their parents are not.

April 2011

• The Impact of the Economy on Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Programs and Services in Urban Local Health Departments, a brief published by the National Association of County and City Health Officials, details findings from a focus group of urban local health department (LHD) staff on how the economic recession has impacted maternal, child, and adolescent health programs and services in urban LHDs. The brief also examines what strategies are being used to ensure that programs and services continue, what support will be needed in the future, and what messages need to be heard by decision-makers at the state and national levels.
• Dramatic increases in obesity and overweight prevalence and body mass index among ethnic-immigrant and social class groups in the United States, 1976-2008 is an article published in the February 2011 issue of the Journal of Community Health. While obesity data for U.S. adults are routinely available by age, gender, and race/ethnicity, prevalence estimates for various immigrant and socioeconomic groups are less well known. This article is based on a study that sought to describe national trends in immigrant and social class inequalities in the prevalence of obesity and overweight and to identify immigrant and social class groups who are at high risk for obesity and who have experienced substantial increases in their obesity rates. The authors conclude that "continued monitoring of disparities in obesity prevalence among immigrant and social class groups is ... essential in tracking progress toward achieving the national goal of eliminating health inequalities."
  
• The Cultural and Linguistic Competence Assessment for Disability Organizations (CLCADO), released by the National Center for for Cultural Competence, supports the cross-section of organizations concerned with disability in planning for and incorporating cultural and linguistic competence. The CLCADO was developed to support organizations to (1) plan for and incorporate culturally and linguistically competent values, policies, structures, and practices in all aspects of their work; (2) enhance the quality of services, supports, and advocacy provided to diverse and underserved communities; (3) effect change in education, training, technical assistance, research, and public policy; and (4) advance cultural and linguistic competence as an essential approach to address racial and ethnic disparities and promote equity for people who experience disabilities and their families. Contents include definitions, key concepts, and an instrument for collecting data specific to the goals and core functions of disability organizations.
• The impact of race on participation in Part C early intervention services is a study, published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics in March 2011, that explores the association of race and qualifying condition with whether a child receives early intervention (EI) services. The authors state, "We believe we are the first to explore the evolution of racial disparities in EI [early intervention] service receipt, documenting the absence of racial differences among infants receiving services and emergence of such differences by the time children are 24 months old." Despite an increase in the percentage of children obtaining services, studies suggest that many young children who have or are at risk for developmental delays fail to receive EI services, and recent U.S. Department of Education data show a relative decrease in the proportion of black children receiving EI services in particular. The article examines enrollment in EI among a nationally representative sample of children who were followed up longitudinally from birth to age 24 months to further understand how a child's qualifying condition contributes to racial differences in receipt of EI services. "Disparities in service receipt did not emerge until 24 months and were observed more consistently among black children who did not have an established medical condition and qualified for services based on developmental delay alone," the authors conclude. They add, "these data can be used to inform current efforts to increase developmental screening of young children and support their participation in EI programs."

March 2011

• The Affordable Care Act and Children with Special Health Care Needs: An Analysis and Steps for State Policymakers examines provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and suggests steps states can take to better achieve coverage and financing of care goals for children with special health care needs (CSHCN). The paper, produced by the National Academy for State Healthy Policy for the Catalyst Center with support from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, reviews ACA provisions promoting increased and more continuous coverage through the private insurance market and new Exchanges established by law, as well as through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. The review is followed by a discussion of the specific opportunities and challenges in the provisions for improving the extent and continuity of coverage for CSHCN.
• Claiming Health: Front-of-Package Labeling of Children's Food examines whether front-of-package (FOP) labels on grocery store products marketed to children promote healthy foods. The report, published by the Prevention Institute, is based on a review of key nutritional aspects or characteristics of 58 food products packaged with FOP labels (symbols denoting healthier products) and marketed to children under age 12. Topics include nutritional content, caloric sweeteners, and whole food ingredients in children's products with FOP labeling; products that failed to meet specified criteria for fat, saturated fat, sugar, sodium, and fiber; and artificial food dyes in study products. Recommendations and conclusions are also presented.
• The National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center for Systems of Care supports Children's Bureau grantees and others in designing and building home- and community-based systems of care that will improve safety, permanency, and well-being for families and children. The center's website contains reports, toolkits, webinars, and other resources reflecting the experiences, challenges, and lessons learned of grantee communities participating in a national demonstration initiative. Products include a series of reports documenting the findings from a cross-site evaluation of the national demonstration initiative and toolkits providing activities, guiding questions, and tips and products from the field. The website is intended to offer guidance for administrators, program managers, and policymakers to inform change efforts and to improve strategic planning, infrastructure development, and implementation of principles and practices that strengthen the child welfare system.

February 2011

• Putting Baby Safely to Sleep is a campaign designed to help families create and maintain a safe sleep environment for infants while also considering the unique features of military life such as frequent relocation and deployment. The campaign was launched by the Department of Defense Family Advocacy Program to provide guidance and resources that augment existing tools for sharing safe sleep information with new and expectant parents and for partnering with other community members. Components of the campaign include a series of tools addressing roles, opportunities, key messages, and online resources for child development program staff, medical personnel, new parent support program home visitors, family program services providers, and family readiness representatives. The campaign also features blog posts from a variety of subject-matter experts who educate through story and example while providing links to professionally vetted information.
• The supplement to the February 2011 issue of Injury Prevention captures the nature and breadth of child death review (CDR) activities as they relate to injury prevention around the world. The authors describe programs that use CDR to inform or motivate their injury-prevention efforts. They also consider the CDR process -- what enhances or hinders an effective role for injury prevention. Finally, they consider internal processes that make CDR teams more or less effective in transmitting and promoting effective injury-prevention interventions. Topics include child pedestrian and low-speed vehicle run-over fatalities, the history of maltreatment among unintentional injury deaths, the role of a CDR team, the use of CDR to inform sudden unexplained infant deaths, analyzing pediatric drowning deaths using CDR surveillance, the U.S. Child Death Review Case Reporting System, the burden of childhood injuries and evidence-based strategies developed using the injury-surveillance system, assessment of caregiver responsibility in unintentional child injury deaths, assessing and improving CDR team recommendations, and collaborative process improvement to enhance injury prevention in CDR.
• Culturally Competent Services Resource Brief, a guide to websites and related professional resources, was updated in February 2011 by the Maternal and Child Health Library (MCH Library) at Georgetown University. The updated brief contains links to federal agency and other organizational websites, along with descriptions of selected resources. Also featured are selected resources developed by the MCH Library such as an annotated bibliography on culturally competent services, links to minority health organizations and non-English-language materials and resources, and a knowledge path on racial and ethnic disparities in health.
• Supplement Report: Maternal & Child Health Epidemiology Capacity -- Findings and Recommendations presents results from an assessment of the epidemiological capacity of state and territorial maternal and child health (MCH) programs. The report was published as a supplement to the 2009 National Assessment of Epidemiology Capacity (ECA) conducted by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2009 ECA asked about overall MCH surveillance and epidemiology capacity, academic- and epidemiology-specific training, competencies of MCH epidemiologists, and number of publications. The supplement addresses the organization of MCH epidemiologic activities, the spectrum of work covered by MCH epidemiologists, access to data and consultants, the nature of data analysis performed, activities to disseminate data, and collaborations with other state health department programs and with agencies outside the health department. Contents include an executive summary; background, methodology, and results; a discussion; conclusions; and recommendations. The assessment module is also provided.
• Recognizing and Addressing Trauma in Infants, Young Children, and their Families is the latest in a series of six tutorials designed to enhance skills and knowledge related to how to implement effective mental health consultation in Head Start and Early Head Start. This tutorial, part of the Best Practice Tutorial Series developed for the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, an Innovation and Improvement Project funded by the Office of Head Start, comprises five modules. Topics include the following: the definition of trauma and types of trauma; the impact of trauma on infants, toddlers, and young children from a development perspective; trauma signs and symptoms; and the role of the consultant in addressing trauma in the early care and education setting. A resource compendium for further learning and exploration is included.
• A Survival Guide -- Planning, Building, and Sustaining a Pediatric Obesity Program shares strategies for institutions working to prevent and treat obesity in children. The guide is an outcome of FOCUS on a Fitter Future, an initiative of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions to articulate the role of children's hospitals and related institutions in combating pediatric obesity while building consensus on performance measurement and quality improvement. The guide is divided into the following three sections: (1) Starting with a Vision, (2) Building the Program, and (3) The Sustainability Challenge. Topics include identifying a program champion, collaborative planning, and defining and measuring outcomes. Appendices include examples of programs and program structures; a sample analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT); a payment template and sample authorization form; a sample business plan; and facts about disease-specific care certification. A glossary and a checklist are also included.
• Oral Health for Infants, Children, Adolescents, and Pregnant Women: Knowledge Path is an electronic guide to recent resources that analyze data, describe effective programs, and report on policy and research aimed at improving access to and the quality of oral health care. The new edition of the knowledge path was produced by the Maternal and Child Health Library (MCH Library) in collaboration with the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center for National Children's Dental Health Month (February 2011). The path contains information on websites and resources from national and state organizations, distance learning resources, databases, and newsletters and news and commentary. Separate sections list resources for families and for schools. The final part of the knowledge path presents resources on specific aspects of oral health: child care and Head Start, dental caries, dental sealants, fluoride varnish, pregnancy, school-based care, and special health care needs.
• Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide authoritative advice for people ages 2 and older about how dietary habits can promote health and reduce risk for major chronic diseases. The guidelines, published jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services every 5 years since 1980, serve as the basis for federal food and nutrition-education programs. Recommendations in the 2010 (seventh) edition encompass two overarching concepts: (1) maintaining calorie balance over time to achieve and sustain a healthy weight and (2) consuming nutrient-dense foods and beverages. The appendices contain resources that can be used in developing policies, programs, and educational materials such as guidance for specific population groups; key consumer behaviors and potential strategies for professionals to use in implementing the guidelines; food safety principles and guidance for consumers; and using the food label to track calories, nutrients, and ingredients. Additional appendices contain nutritional goals for age-gender groups; estimated calorie needs per day by age, gender, and physical activity level; and the USDA Food Patterns and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Eating Plan. sa

January 2011

• The Transition to Adulthood: How States Can Support Older Youth in Foster Care highlights effective strategies and promising approaches aimed at improving outcomes for youth as they age out of the foster care system. The report, published by the National Governor's Association Center for Best Practices, touches briefly on comparative outcomes for foster youth and youth in the general population, possible reasons for the differing outcomes, and state strategies to improve prospects for youth in the transition to adulthood. The chapters that follow detail state strategies in the following five areas: education, employment, housing, health care, and relationships. Examples of successful state and local efforts are provided throughout the report.
• Environmental Health in Early Childhood Systems Building: Opportunities for States examines exposures to environmental hazards among young children and opportunities for state-level stakeholders to initiate and support effective interventions. The brief, published by the National Center for Children in Poverty, identifies some of the substances that threaten young children inside and near the home or early care and learning setting. The authors describe the importance of early intervention for disease prevention and provide examples of strategic approaches to regional policy and program reform. They also explore specific actions states can take to successfully address environmental health issues affecting children.
• Partnerships and Innovations to Address Social Determinants of Health. The supplement to the January 2011 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, titled Strong Medicine for a Healthier America, examines what is happening in states, communities, and neighborhoods to address social contributors to health. The articles and commentaries in the supplement present and expand on the analyses undertaken and policies explored with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Commission to Build a Healthier America. Topics include the current state of health in the United States, health deficits, and what needs to be changed; the factors that place young children at high risk for living less healthy lives and options for policy and other changes; the effectiveness of health promotion programs and policies in schools and workplaces and why and how these programs could be linked to clinical practices; links between the built environment and health; methodological limitations that arise when looking at research across disciplines; and an economic argument for investing in improved health.
• Recognizing and Addressing Trauma in Infants, Young Children, and their Families is the latest in a series of six tutorials designed to enhance skills and knowledge related to how to implement effective mental health consultation in Head Start and Early Head Start. This tutorial, part of the Best Practice Tutorial Series developed for the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, an Innovation and Improvement Project funded by the Office of Head Start, comprises five modules. Topics include the following: the definition of trauma and types of trauma; the impact of trauma on infants, toddlers, and young children from a development perspective; trauma signs and symptoms; and the role of the consultant in addressing trauma in the early care and education setting. A resource compendium for further learning and exploration is included.
• A Survival Guide -- Planning, Building, and Sustaining a Pediatric Obesity Program shares strategies for institutions working to prevent and treat obesity in children. The guide is an outcome of FOCUS on a Fitter Future, an initiative of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions to articulate the role of children's hospitals and related institutions in combating pediatric obesity while building consensus on performance measurement and quality improvement. The guide is divided into the following three sections: (1) Starting with a Vision, (2) Building the Program, and (3) The Sustainability Challenge. Topics include identifying a program champion, collaborative planning, and defining and measuring outcomes. Appendices include examples of programs and program structures; a sample analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT); a payment template and sample authorization form; a sample business plan; and facts about disease-specific care certification. A glossary and a checklist are also included.