Cooperative Agreement 02F10401

DESCRIPTION: GROWING UP HEALTHY WILL UPDATE THE CURRENT ECO-HEALTHY CHILD CARE® CHECKLIST TO INCLUDE THE LATEST ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH-RELATED SCIENCE AND WILL EXPAND IT TO 35 BEST PRACTICES WITH A FOCUS ON IMPROVING INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN CHILD CARE FACILITIES. AT LEAST 136 CENTER BASED EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS WILL RECEIVE FREE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH), INCLUDING THE UPDATED CHECKLIST. 30% (40) OF THESE PROGRAMS WILL ALSO RECEIVE FREE USAGES OF EHCC®'S 3 HOUR E-LEARNING COURSE, AN ADDITIONAL VIRTUAL EDUCATION SESSION, 4 SESSIONS OF VIRTUAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND RESOURCES ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH-RELATED TOPICS TO ENCOURAGE PROVIDERS TO ADOPT BEST PRACTICES AND POLICIES TO IMPROVE INDOOR AIR QUALITY. IN AN EFFORT TO REACH PROVIDERS SERVING LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES, WE WILL DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION ON INDOOR AIR QUALITY TESTING TO HEADSTART, ARKANSAS BETTER CHANCE PROGRAMS, AND CHILD CARE PROVIDERS THAT TARGET FAMILIES IN LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS. AT LEAST 20 PROVIDERS WILL AGREE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY, AND INDOOR AIR QUALITY WILL BE MONITORED BY MCMAC CX OVER 12 MONTHS. ACTIVITIES: WHILE THIS PROJECT WILL IMPACT A TOTAL OF 136 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CENTERS IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS, THE UPDATED CHECKLIST, RESOURCES, PROTOCOLS AND RESEARCH RESULTS WILL BE USED TO FURTHER IMPROVE THE INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN THE 900+ EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS CURRENTLY EHCC® ENDORSED, AS WELL AS GROW THE NETWORK OF EHCC® ENDORSED PROGRAMS ACROSS THE NATION. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL PROPEL GROWING UP HEALTHY TO CREATE HEALTHIER EARLY LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR ALL CHILDREN AND FAMILIES FOR GENERATIONS TO COME VIA POLICY CHANGE, RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND MARKET-PLACE GROWTH, GIVING EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS AND STATES AND SYSTEMS DATA-DRIVEN STRATEGIES TO SPARK NATIONWIDE CHANGE IN CHILDREN'S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. OUTCOMES: GROWING UP HEALTHY WILL UPDATE THE CURRENT ECO-HEALTHY CHILD CARE® CHECKLIST TO INCLUDE THE LATEST ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH-RELATED SCIENCE AND WILL EXPAND IT TO 35 BEST PRACTICES WITH A FOCUS ON IMPROVING INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN CHILD CARE FACILITIES. AT LEAST 136 CENTER BASED EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS WILL RECEIVE FREE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH), INCLUDING THE UPDATED CHECKLIST. 30% (40) OF THESE PROGRAMS WILL ALSO RECEIVE FREE USAGES OF EHCC®'S 3 HOUR E-LEARNING COURSE, AN ADDITIONAL VIRTUAL EDUCATION SESSION, 4 SESSIONS OF VIRTUAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND RESOURCES ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH-RELATED TOPICS TO ENCOURAGE PROVIDERS TO ADOPT BEST PRACTICES AND POLICIES TO IMPROVE INDOOR AIR QUALITY. IN AN EFFORT TO REACH PROVIDERS SERVING LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES, WE WILL DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION ON INDOOR AIR QUALITY TESTING TO HEADSTART, ARKANSAS BETTER CHANCE PROGRAMS, AND CHILD CARE PROVIDERS THAT TARGET FAMILIES IN LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS. AT LEAST 20 PROVIDERS WILL AGREE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY, AND INDOOR AIR QUALITY WILL BE MONITORED BY MCMAC CX OVER 12 MONTHS. SUBRECIPIENT: SUBAWARDS COSTS - CEHN AND EHCC WILL PROVIDE VIRTUAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING ON CHILDREN & RSQUO;S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH TO CHILD CARE PROFESSIONALS IN REGION 6. CEHN/EHCC WILL DISTRIBUTE IN-KIND USAGES OF E-LEARNING COURSE AND EHCC CHECKLIST AND WILL FACILITATE DISCUSSIONS WITH ARKANSAS LEADERS ON QUALITY RATING AND IMPROVEMENT SYSTEM (QRIS) ADOPTION OF EHCC RELATED CHILDREN & RSQUO;S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH STANDARDS. COST IN YEAR 1 INCLUDES TRAVEL FOR ONE INDIVIDUAL FOR A 2 DAY IN PERSON MEETING WITH HWCEC, CEHN AND EHCC. COSTS INCLUDE AIRFARE ($320 TOTAL) FOR NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF EHCC TO TRAVEL TO WASHINGTON DC, 2 NIGHTS IN A HOTEL ($500 TOTAL), AND PER DIEM OF $55/DAY/PERSON.