Calendar

Register here

As communities in the United States begin to re-open, you will have to make decisions to keep your staff and the families you serve safe. Public health officials have provided guidance that answers some of your questions, but other decisions will have to be made using your best judgment. Join the CDC Foundation for a 90-minute online seminar that will:

• Discuss how the virus works and spreads
• Share a process that can help you analyze the risks in your unique settings
• Work through some relevant scenarios with public health experts

Join us for a virtual discussion around the impact of housing and healthcare and the promising approach to improving maternal/infant health
About this Event
Research Findings and Recommendations for Policy Makers

Safe, stable, and quality housing is essential for families—particularly mothers and children–to thrive and achieve optimal health. However, a lack of affordable housing nationwide has made families vulnerable to high housing cost burden and housing instability, as households are forced to make tradeoffs between housing and other basic needs, such as food, healthcare, and utilities. This puts families under high stress and places them at risk for homelessness and additional material hardships. This can have significant impacts on child and maternal health.

Given the significant impact of housing on perinatal health, integrating and aligning housing and healthcare may be a promising approach to improve maternal health and infant vitality.

Healthy Beginnings at Home (HBAH) is an innovative initiative designed to improve perinatal outcomes among women experiencing housing instability. HBAH brings together housing and health-care organizations in partnership to demonstrate the positive benefits of safe, stable and affordable housing on maternal and infant health outcomes.

This event will highlight observations from HBAH, new research, and explore emerging policy recommendations to integrate and align housing and healthcare.

Please join us as researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Children’s HealthWatch facilitate a discussion on policy recommendations, including our featured speaker, Dr. Megan Sandel.

You’re invited to join us for a child care round table discussion featuring Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley this Friday, July 17th from 11 AM to 12 PM. During the webinar, participants will discuss the critical role child care plays in supporting families, businesses, and the local economy. Round table participants will include:

• Mayor Daniel Horrigan, City of Akron
• Mayor Nan Whaley, City of Dayton
• Laura DiCola, Summit Education Initiative
• Palmer Jason, Good Shepherd Academy Child Care
• Ronette Moss, Akron Area YMCA
• Charmaine Webster, Dayton/Montgomery County Preschool Promise

The discussion will be facilitated by Shannon Jones, Executive Director of Groundwork Ohio. We invite you to join us in watching the live discussion and submitting your questions and feedback through the chat box function.

You’re invited to join us for a child care round table discussion with Congressman Troy Balderson this THURSDAY, July 23rd from 9-9:45 AM. During the webinar, participants will share their experiences and concerns with Congressman Balderson, along with the critical need to support child care during the COVID-19 recovery. Round table participants will include:

• Leigh Anne Easterling, Mary Evans Child Development Center
• Eric Karolak, Action for Children
• Kimberly Tice, Ohio AEYC

The discussion will be facilitated by Shannon Jones, Executive Director of Groundwork Ohio. We invite you to join us in watching the live discussion and submitting your questions and feedback through the chat box function.

Ohio Legislative Children’s Caucus Webinar

Register here

Topic: 

Ohio Legislative Children’s Caucus Webinar: The Workforce Behind the Workforce: Strengthen Child Care to Build Ohio’s Economy

Description:

Join the Center for Family Voice at Groundwork Ohio on Wednesday, July 7th from 10:00am-11:00am for the virtual release of our new report, “Amplifying Family Voice to Advance Equitable Outcomes for Young Children.” During the webinar, Groundwork Ohio will be joined by early childhood experts and esteemed guests to discuss the findings of our new report, expectations for the future work of the Center for Family Voice and how Ohio can better empower families to drive change and improve the healthy development of Ohio’s young children.

Speakers include:
• Shannon Jones, Executive Director of Groundwork Ohio
• Lynanne Gutierrez, Assistant Director at Groundwork Ohio
• Director Maureen Corcoran, Ohio Department of Medicaid
• Ami Cole, President at Molina Healthcare of Ohio
• Sherri Killins Stewart, Director of State Systems Alignment and Integration for the BUILD Initiative

In January, Groundwork Ohio announced a historic investment by MolinaCares Accord to build a “center of excellence” dedicated to authentically engaging Ohio parents and families in the policies and practices that impact the healthy development of their children. The report reflects findings from an extensive environmental scan across the state of Ohio and nation completed by the Center to explore best practices that successfully engage families in public services delivery to inform state and local programs, practices, and policy development. The scan was supported by expert technical assistance support from the Center for Health Care Strategies and the BUILD Initiative.

Click here to register

We hope you will join us for this timely Keynote presentation from Dr. Alison Tovar about the importance of centering equity in early childhood nutrition outcomes. The presentation will be followed by a moderated Q and A session with the audience.

Alison Tovar, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Center for Health Promotion and Health Equity in the Brown University School of Public Health. Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Dr. Tovar received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Northeastern University in 2001, a Master’s in Public Health from Tufts University School of Medicine in 2005, and her Ph.D. from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in 2009. Dr. Tovar was a faculty in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at The University of Rhode Island from 2012-2021 and joined Brown University in 2022. Her research focuses on understanding factors that shape eating behaviors early in life among diverse, underrepresented populations and developing community-based interventions among these populations.

Session 1 is intended for ECE/School-age program teachers and family child care providers and will provide information on healthy habits and strategies for implementing experiences in the program. All four parts of Session 1 must be taken for credit.

Part A – Healthy Physical Activity: Importance of physical play and structured and unstructured play ideas

Part B – Healthy Feeding and Eating: Nutrition, tips on encouraging new foods, positive drink choices and program activities

Part C – Healthy Growing: Positive body image, growing of fruits/vegetables program ideas

Part D –  Healthy Families: Family engagement ideas, promote healthy habits in home settings.

To register, visit OCCRRA’s website and use ST#10127408.

If your program is pursuing Ohio Healthy Programs designation, the program administrator must complete the Ohio Early Care and Education Nutrition and Physical Activity Assessment prior to attending their first training and/or technical assistance visit.

NOTE: This is day 1 of a 2-day training. The second training will take place on Saturday, February 11. Participants must attend and complete BOTH days of training to receive full credit.

Session 1 is intended for ECE/School-age program teachers and family child care providers and will provide information on healthy habits and strategies for implementing experiences in the program. All four parts of Session 1 must be taken for credit.

Part A – Healthy Physical Activity: Importance of physical play and structured and unstructured play ideas

Part B – Healthy Feeding and Eating: Nutrition, tips on encouraging new foods, positive drink choices and program activities

Part C – Healthy Growing: Positive body image, growing of fruits/vegetables program ideas

Part D –  Healthy Families: Family engagement ideas, promote healthy habits in home settings.

To register, visit OCCRRA’s website and use ST#10127408.

If your program is pursuing Ohio Healthy Programs designation, the program administrator must complete the Ohio Early Care and Education Nutrition and Physical Activity Assessment prior to attending their first training and/or technical assistance visit.

NOTE: This is day 2 of a 2-day training. The first training took place on Saturday, January 28. Participants must attend and complete BOTH days of training to receive full credit.