Every child deserves the chance to eat healthy food and play every day. Because 60 percent of children under age six spend much of their time in care outside of their homes, early care and education settings are important places for children to build healthy habits.

The Problem:

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) refers to the death of an infant between one and 12 months old which cannot be explained. It is the most common cause of death for infants and usually occurs when a baby is sleeping. Roughly 12 percent of SIDS deaths occur while infants are in the care of someone other than the parent, including in early care and education programs.

The Problem:

Other healthy meal self-assessment tools exist, but they focus on detailed best practices related to nutrition and healthy eating environments. They can be complicated and time-consuming.

Location is everything nowadays. Where we live and work can determine the types of professional opportunities we have, as well as how we spend our free time. Many people may not realize that the locations where we spend a lot of time can directly affect our health. This is especially true for young children, whose bodies and brains are rapidly growing and developing.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, as “stressful or traumatic events, including abuse and neglect.” New national data reveals that more than 46 percent of U.S. children—34 million under age 18—have experienced at least one traumatic event. More than 20 percent have experienced two or more.

In September 2016, Child Care Resource Center, the resource and referral agency serving the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, began implementing the Child Care Aware® of America’s Resiliency Hub pilot project. The goal of this project is to “increase the capacity of child care resource and referral agencies to serve as resilience hubs in their communities in the event of emergencies or natural disasters.”