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Unemployment Resources, Debt, and Financial Literacy
Being unemployed isn't easy, but
WIC Can Help
by referring families to a multitude of resources that can assist with everything from job training to learning how to get out of debt after lost wages from not working. WIC can provide resources to help families learn about the difference between credit and savings, and knowing who to trust when making financial decisions for themselves or others.
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Victory for BF Peer Counseling Funds
Just before the holiday week and in time to avoid a government shutdown, Congress and President Trump approved the final spending bills for fiscal year 2020 which began October 1. The funding package totals 1.4 trillion, and with tax cuts decreasing government revenue, the total amounts to 1.8 trillion. The process over the year has been tumultuous resulting in the longest government shutdown in US history, tax cuts and historic debt increases, budget cap adjustments, hold ups over construction of the border wall and other divisive issues. For WIC, there is a significant bright outcome with adequate program funding at 6.0 billion, including funding for Breastfeeding Peer Counselors at the fully authorized amount of 90 million, a 30 million increase over current funding. Shout out to NWA for leading the national advocacy efforts to secure the additional funding.
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New CA Laws on the Books
Dozens of new laws went into effect on January 1, 2020, including several of particular interest to the maternal-child wellness community. SB 142 requires employers to have a lactation accommodation policy, and to provide clean and safe lactation rooms for breastfeeding mothers, including access to a sink and refrigerator in close proximity to the employee's workspace. SB 83, which goes into effect on July 1, increases paid leave from six to eight weeks for people taking care of a seriously ill family member or to bond with a new child. AB 577 expands coverage for maternal mental health from 60 days to one year for Medi-Cal patients. Californians will be required to have health insurance, an "individual mandate" similar to the one under the federal Affordable Care Act that became inoperative in 2019, and Medi-Cal is expanded to cover income-eligible undocumented young adults through age 25. Women seeking birth control pills through apps such as one offered by Planned Parenthood will no longer have to participate in video conferencing with a health professional for a prescription. Landlords can no longer turn away a person whose rent will be partially paid with a Section 8 voucher. Starting in 2020, California is requiring that health care workers who treat pregnant women receive implicit bias training - designed to improve awareness of the impact racial bias has on maternal and infant health.
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Spring Conference - Register Now!
Have you registered yet? Please join us in sunny San Diego, April 5-8, 2020, to connect, collaborate, and network with WIC staff and community partners from across the state. This year's agenda will feature a full-day two-track pre-conference (breastfeeding and leadership) and 2.5 days of a five-track conference, trade show, exciting keynote speakers, and plenty of chances to gather, celebrate, and learn from one another. Register here. Read more about the 2020 conference here. Draft agenda coming soon so check back often.
Breaking News! Our opening plenary speaker for the Empowered California Families Conference will be Laura van Dernoot Lipsky. Laura is the founder and director of The Trauma Stewardship Institute and author of Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others and The Age of Overwhelm. Widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of trauma exposure, she has worked locally, nationally, and internationally for more than three decades. In a time of massive change, while we are facing many obstacles, Laura will be speaking to us about how to weather the storm while still practicing compassion for ourselves and others.
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CNC Scholarship Apps - Due Jan. 15!
Start off 2020 by getting in your scholarship application- due next week! Since 2002, CWA has offered scholarships to CA WIC employees pursuing their undergraduate or graduate degrees in nutrition, public health, and business, or completing their Dietetic Internship to become a RD. California WIC can be proud of its strong public health workforce with not only academic strength, but cultural competency, diverse language capacity and commitment to community health. The CNC Applications are available on our website. The due date is firm, 3pm on January 15, 2020. Questions? Contact Lena or Meghan.
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The Leader in You - Leadership Academy 2020
Calling all local agency and state staff! Don't miss this opportunity to grow the leader in you in 2020. There have been lots of examples of strong leadership this past year as everyone has pulled together to rollout eWIC. With the many changes needed to maximize WIC participation, leadership will be needed. Public health is transforming and nutrition and breastfeeding leaders are needed. If those are not enough reasons to apply, you will make new WIC friends from across the state. Applications and information are posted on the CWA website. The completed application package is due by January 31, 2020, and participants will be notified by February 14, 2020.
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National WIC Association Leadership Trip!
It's that time of year again, where we are preparing for our annual trip to Washington DC to provide WIC program education on Capitol Hill. We have a lot of positive and inspiring stories to share with our members of Congress this year - the eWIC rollout, increased budget for breastfeeding peer counselors, emergency WIC services provided during and after wildfires - we have a lot to be proud of! Stay tuned for an informational webinar in February. If you're planning on joining us in Washington or sending staff, please let Sarah know!
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WIC Watch - Submit Your WIC Story!
Lots of great work is going on in the local agencies. New ways to provide services are being tested. WIC checks are being used at farmers' markets to get fruits and vegetables. Dietetic interns are being trained. WIC families are getting fantastic nutrition and breastfeeding information and support. You see incredible examples of resilience and compassion. You or your colleagues are putting it all out there to stay healthy. Let's hear from you. We need our agency's stories! We are working on the next WIC Watch magazine for publication at the spring conference. Please contact
Sarah by
February 7th to send in your article or story.
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Prioritizing WIC Participation
A recent report from the CDC credits WIC with reducing obesity in 2-4 year olds, from 15.9% in 2010 to 13.9% in 2016, with significant decreases observed in all age, sex, and racial/ethnic subgroups. At the state level obesity declined in 41 of 56 states or territory agencies. These findings add to other outcomes data, showing an impact on childhood obesity related to WIC participation. This blog post from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, connects these significant findings with reduced WIC participation, efforts to modernize and streamline program operations and services, and calls on state policy makers to make WIC participation a priority.
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Probiotics May Help Ease Colic in Infants
Probiotics have been used to treat infant colic with varying success. In a new trial, investigators have shown that drops containing a particular probiotic strain (Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12) reduced the duration of daily crying by more than 50% in 80% of the 40 infants who received the probiotic once daily for 28 days, with beneficial effects on sleep duration and on stool frequency and consistency.
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Dopamine, Biological Clock Link to Overeating and Obesity
During the years 1976 through 1980, 15% of U.S. adults were obese. Today, about 40% of adults are obese. Another 33% are overweight. Coinciding with this increase in weight are rising rates of "lifestyle diseases," such as heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. In a recent study, researchers demonstrate that the pleasure center of the brain that produces the chemical dopamine, and the brain's separate biological clock that regulates daily physiological rhythms, are linked, and that high-calorie foods - which bring pleasure - disrupt normal feeding schedules, resulting in over-consumption. Using mice as study models, the researchers mimicked the 24/7 availability of a high-fat diet, and showed that anytime snacking eventually results in obesity and related health problems. Additionally, so-called "knockout" mice that had their dopamine signaling disrupted -- meaning they didn't seek the rewarding pleasure of the high-fat diet -- maintained a normal eating schedule and did not become obese, even when presented with the 24/7 availability of high-calorie feeds.
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CA Homelessness Updates
Cal Matters provides this brief update with hard hitting facts on the status of homelessness in California, touching on issues involving mental health, veterans, rent, shelters, law enforcement and more. The story identifies solutions, none which are easy, but urges multiple strategies.
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Playground Stencils Available
Some years ago, the California Department of Public Health - via its Prevention First grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - sent out collections of playground stencils to one or more organizations in every California county. These receiving organizations were charged with lending out the stencils to basically any entity that wanted to borrow them for a few weeks or so. The stencils, of course, are used to paint various shapes on hard ground surfaces such as concrete and cement, and sometimes even on the sides of buildings. The stencil shapes include numbers, letters, animals, fruits and vegetables, bull's eye toss, and hopscotch, etc. The point of these stencil creations is to prompt young children to participate in more physical activity, as they jump, skip, walk, or even tricycle, following a stencil path. The stencils appear to appeal to children ages two to about seven. See the Painting Preschool Playgrounds for Movement document for more information about stencils and their use. CDPH provides an updated list of stencil county contacts. Please feel free to share the list with individuals and organizations who might want to use the stencils themselves, or promote them to child-serving entities. For questions or to access the county contacts to access stencils, contact Andrew Manthe.
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Breastfeeding State Innovation Project Report
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