Early Care & Education

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Projects

• Early Care & Education in the State Physical Activity and Nutrition (SPAN) Program

  CPHN is a subcontractor with the Washington State Department of Health to help provide training and technical assistance to the state’s early care and education (ECE) system. The project aims to provide support for physical activity and nutrition best-practices in ECE settings with online STARS* trainings for ECE providers and additional trainings and materials for...

  Project Lead/PI: Jennifer Otten

  Research Area(s): Early Care & Education

• Child Care Culture of Health Study

  Investigators are evaluating how wage and wage changes might affect the culture of health in early childhood education (ECE) settings —a setting typically characterized by low wages. The researchers are examining how changes to state and city minimum wages affect the health of ECE providers, and how ECE provider health relates to the quality and...

  Project Lead/PI: Jennifer Otten

  Research Area(s): Early Care & Education, Food & Nutrition Policy, Social Determinants of Health

• Work and Health Among Early Childhood Education Providers in Washington State

  Early care and learning environments are increasingly recognized as critical factors in the health, development, and wellbeing of young children. The estimated 2.2 million people employed in early care and education (ECE) in the US, however, represent a highly vulnerable working population. ECE providers receive relatively low pay, have few job-related benefits, and are disproportionately...

  Project Lead/PI: Jennifer Otten

  Research Area(s): Early Care & Education

Recently Added Resources

• Healthy Policies Toolkit: Nutrition and Physical Activity in Child Care

  This toolkit was produced in 2014 and designed for early childhood education professionals to use in designing and implementing healthy child care policies. The toolkit contains recommendations from the following sources: Let’s Move! Child Care Preventing Childhood Obesity in Early Care and Education Programs, 2nd Edition: Selected Standards from Caring for Our Children: National Health...

  Research Area(s): Early Care & Education

• Washington State Survey of Nutrition and Physical Activity in Child Care

  About the Survey The purpose of the survey was to learn more about nutrition and physical activity for children ages 2-5 in licensed child care programs. Child care providers in all parts of Washington completed the survey and provided important information about nutrition and physical activity for young children in our state. The University of...

  Research Area(s): Early Care & Education

• Replacing Juice with Fruit: Nutrition and Economic Effects

  Substituting 100% fruit juice with fresh fruit in children’s diets reduced calories and increased fiber — but increased diet costs. Replacement of fruit juice with canned fruit only modestly increased costs, but resulted in less impressive nutritional benefits. Results are from a nationally representative sample of 7,000 children and adolescents. Support for this project provided...

  Research Area(s): Early Care & Education, Food & Nutrition Policy