CWA Flash E-Newsletter - November 7, 2017
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Financial Literacy
The holiday season can be a time for increased financial stress. As many families still struggle to survive in this tough economy, support for their financial health is especially important. This month,  WIC Can Help  provide resources on debt counseling and financial literacy, from basic banking skills to foreclosure prevention and help with problem gambling.
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Healthy Fats Curb Cravings for Sweets
Eating more healthy  fats  like nuts and full-fat dairy can help reduce cravings for unhealthy  carbohydrates  like white bread and sugary cereal, say Harvard School of Public Health experts. Unhealthy carbs cause blood glucose fluctuations that can contribute to  weight gain  and various health problems.
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Policy Updates
CHIP Funding Debate Includes Significant Cuts
While the tax debate unfolds and cuts for corporations and the wealthiest are proposed, it is unconscionable that the House CHAMPIONING HEALTHY KIDS Act proposes renewed funding of the Children's Health Insurance Program and community health centers through increased Medicare premiums, cuts to the ACA Public Health and Prevention Fund and stricter grace periods for late premium payments. The Public Health and Prevention Fund fund cuts would hit every state with reduced support for key health improvement strategies including obesity prevention, smoking cessation, Baby Friendly Hospitals, oral health and more. (See Storify article under Resources, below.) Late premium payments would result in loss of coverage, including for pregnant women, with estimates from the CBO and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities of 500,000-680,000 uninsured. The House bill moved to the Senate where push back is predicted, but funding offsets will be expected.
Health Plan Open Enrollment: Come On In!
Despite the turmoil over the ACA, the doors are open now for health plans enrollees!
Various protections are in place in California to protect coverage including a longer enrollment period, November 1 through January 31, 2018, despite Trump's order to halve the time period. Covered CA has boosted its marketing budget to enable opportunities to reach individuals and provide information for coverage. ACTION:Share materials for enrollment with participants and host opportunities for enrollment in WIC clinics.

CWA News
Santa Barbara County WIC Receives Prestigious USDA Award!
Congratulations to  Santa Barbara County Public Health Department WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program for being awarded the Loving Support Excellence Gold Premiere Award by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Santa Barbara County WIC is one of 6 awardees throughout the United States - and the only awardee in California! Santa Barbara County WIC has some of the highest breastfeeding rates in California and the United States. The award was based on high breastfeeding rates, innovative use of technology, a high number of lactation educators and IBCLCs, and effective community partnerships.
Remembering Gus Schumacher
CWA and the WIC Program nationwide lost a true friend when Gus Schumacher passed away September 24th. Gus served as an advocate in many agricultural policy positions in Massachusetts, within USDA, under the Clinton administration, as co-founder of Wholesome Wave, and as a board member of the Farmers' Market Coalition (FMC), always using his position to get healthy food to people who struggled. FMC credits Gus with creating the nation's first farmers market nutrition program, a model "replicated across the country and benefitting tens (if not hundreds) of millions of low-income Americans in the past three decades." CWA joins many colleagues working to improve the lives of lower-income families in remembering Gus as a kind, approachable man who championed the opportunity to redeem WIC and SNAP benefits at farmers' markets. He presented on a 2012 CWA webinar, and specifically suggested California's FVC authorization signs for farmers' markets say, "Your WIC Fruit Vegetable Checks are welcome here!" We strive to continue his legacy through our Farm2WIC efforts and ongoing advocacy for families in need.

Our Top News Picks
Investigative Report on Infant Formula Marketing
A new investigative report by The Changing Markets Foundation, Globalization Monitor, SumOfUs and the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) reveals that the four leading manufacturers of milk formulas are unduly boosting profits by exploiting parents' understandable desire to give the best possible nutrition to their babies. The report, Milking It: How milk formula companies are putting profits before science, reviewed more than 400 infant milks for babies under 12 months old from the four leading global manufacturers: NestlĂ©, Danone, Mead Johnson Nutrition, and Abbott, sold at 14 markets. It concluded that product differentiation is not science-based, but instead informed by careful research into consumer preferences, and guided by a desire to increase manufacturers' market share and profits, especially in highly competitive, rapidly growing Asian markets. Read the Executive Summary here, and the full report here.
New Research on Breastfeeding and Reduced SIDS Risk
New research indicates that breastfeeding for at least two months cuts a baby's risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome almost in half. The study determined that mothers do not need to breastfeed exclusively for their baby to get the benefit, potentially good news for moms who can't or choose not to rely solely on breastfeeding. Previous studies have suggested that breastfeeding was associated with a decreased risk of SIDS, the leading cause of death of babies between 1 month and one year of age, but this study is the first to determine the duration necessary to provide that protection. Breastfeeding for less than two months did not offer such a benefit. Based on their results, the researchers are calling for "ongoing concerted efforts" to increase rates of breastfeeding around the world.
Children, Sleep and Screens
A new examination of data regarding children's use of electronic devices and sleeping habits finds that children are uniquely vulnerable to sleep disruption from electronic screens. Of more than five dozen studies looking at youth ages 5 to 17 from around the world, 90 percent have found that more screen time is associated with delayed bedtimes, fewer hours of sleep and poorer sleep. Researchers say that children are especially susceptible, and finds that biological, neurological and environmental factors all play a role. More than 75 percent of youth have screen-based media in their bedrooms, 60 percent interact with them in the hour before bedtime, and 45 percent use their phones as an alarm. Recommendations from researchers include: limiting children's media use in the hour before bedtime; turn off all electronic media devices, including yours, at bedtime, and charge them in a central location outside bedrooms; remove all electronic media from your child or teen's bedroom, including TVs, video games, computers, tablets, and cell phones.
Obesity Treatment: Time to Reevaluate
The results of a national study on obesity prevention reveals troubling issues that impact control and prevention of this costly chronic disease. The ACTION study , formally called the Awareness, Care and Treatment in Obesity Management study, included a survey of patients, medical providers and employers. Patients often do not see a connection of their own weight to obesity and are at a loss to understand how to effectively reduce or prevent obesity, feeling great personal responsibility. Feedback from medical providers also reveals lack of an understanding of how to effectively assist patients presenting with overweight and obesity. Employers, especially regarding employee wellness benefits offerings, are not seeing the hoped-for results. The authors call for collaborative efforts and renewed strategizing for obesity reduction and prevention. View the materials including the report, summary, infographics and overview video.

Resources
Updated Clinical Guidance on Zika
The CDC has issued updated interim clinical guidance for health care providers caring for infants born to mothers with possible Zika virus infection during pregnancy. The updated recommendations emphasize that it is important for pediatric health care providers to assess risk of congenital Zika virus infection, to communicate closely with obstetrical providers, and to remain alert for any problems that may develop in infants without birth defects born to mothers with possible Zika virus exposure during pregnancy. The update includes information that has become available since the August 2016 release of the previous guidance. Read the press release .
AAP Updated Breastfeeding Materials
Prevention Fund Storify
The American Public Health Association has published a "storify" outlining the critical role that the Prevention and Public Health Fund plays in helping improve health outcomes and reduce health costs. Established as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, the Prevention Fund is the nation's first mandatory funding stream dedicated to improving our nation's public health system. Proposed cuts to this funding (see first Policy article) will specifically have negative impacts on programs devoted to young children, senior health, behavioral health, and mental health.
Report on Violence Against Children
UNICEF has released a report on violence against children entitled "A Familiar Face: Violence in the lives of children and adolescents." This report presents the most current data on four specific forms of violence - violent discipline and exposure to domestic abuse during early childhood; violence at school; violent deaths among adolescents; and sexual violence in childhood and adolescence. The statistics reveal that children experience violence across all stages of childhood, in diverse settings, and often at the hands of the trusted individuals with whom they interact daily. The report concludes with specific national actions and strategies that UNICEF has embraced to prevent and respond to violence against children.

California WIC Association
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