CWA Flash Newsletter - December 10, 2020 |
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Newest COVID-19 Shutdown Order for CA |
Last week Governor Newsom announced a new COVID-19 order that triggers business closures and stay-home orders based on hospital ICU capacity within five California regions: Northern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. The new order will be triggered if a region’s intensive care unit bed capacity drops below 15%. Currently the San Joaquin Valley, Southern California and Sacramento regions meet the criteria to be under the new order, though several Bay Area counties have voluntarily opted in as well. Once the order takes effect in a region, it will last for at least three weeks.
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U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Plan to Address Maternal Mortality |
On December 3rd, DHHS released an action plan and announced a partnership to reduce maternal deaths and racial and economic disparities in maternal mortality and health outcomes, and Surgeon General Jerome Adams issued a Call to Action to Improve Maternal Health. Over 30,000 women in the US every year die of complications of pregnancy, labor or birth, and the CDC estimates that two out of three pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. The new action plan has three targets to achieve by 2025: reduce the maternal mortality rate by 50%, reduce low-risk cesarean deliveries by 25%, and achieve blood pressure control in 80% of women of reproductive age with hypertension. To learn more about the HHS Initiative to Improve Maternal Health, visit: https://aspe.hhs.gov/initiative-to-improve-maternal-health.
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On November 14, a U.S. district court found that Chad Wolf, who claimed to be the acting secretary of Homeland Security, did not have the legal authority to serve as the acting secretary of Homeland Security when he issued his July 2020 memorandum whose provisions limit the availability of DACA, and therefore that his memo was issued unlawfully. As a result of the Batalla Vidal v. Wolf decision, the Department of Homeland Security should return the DACA program to its initial form — reopening DACA to first-time applicants, restoring work authorization and renewals to two years, and making travel on advance parole available to DACA recipients without restrictions.
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Pres. Elect Biden Fills His Cabinet |
President-Elect Biden has been filling cabinet positions and building out his administration in preparation to take office in January. Among his new appointees are CA Attorney General Xavier Becerra as the new leader of DHHS, and Tom Vilsack as the new Secretary of Agriculture. Xavier Becerra represented California in the House of Representatives for nearly 25 years before replacing Kamala Harris as California’s AG. Tom Vilsack served as Secretary of Ag under President Obama for 8 years, and has since been leading the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Ohio Congresswoman Marcia Fudge had been floated as a pick for leading USDA, a choice that would have meant a strong champion for SNAP and WIC in that position, but appears to have been tapped to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development instead.
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New Appointment to Lead CDPH |
Gov. Newsom on Monday announced the appointment of Dr. Tomás Aragón as the new director of the California Department of Public Health. Dr. Aragon has been San Francisco’s health officer since 2011 and will replace Sandra Shewry, who had been serving as the state Department of Public Health’s interim director since the previous director Dr. Sonia Angell resigned in August. The appointment of Aragon, who has also been volunteer faculty for the University of California at Berkeley School of Public Health since 2004, requires state Senate confirmation.
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During a normal year, WIC staff from around the state would come together at the Capitol to visit our lawmakers and talk to them about all the wonderful work WIC does for their constituents. This, however, has been far from a normal year! We changed things up this year by doing group appointments with legislators from the 10 WIC regions of California. It wasn’t our usual, but it was nonetheless successful! Our group visits went well, with some good engagement from legislative staff. Shout out to the wonderful legislative folks who provided our pre-Capitol Week training earlier in November, Alan Moore of (former) Senator Holly Mitchell’s office, and Claire Conlon of Asm. Cottie Petrie-Norris’s office. For a recording of that training, contact Sarah.
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California WIC: Integration, Collaboration, and Coalition Building |
Next week state and local WIC staff will close out historic 2020 together, making plans for the coming year and learning about critical issues impacting WIC families. The week is packed with substantive topics and speakers, including WIC data trends, modernizing education, and addressing the needs of the WIC workforce and dietetic internships. Guest speakers will present on housing policy, data sharing in the safety net, home visiting and emergency preparedness. With many WIC staff working remotely, managers will take a deep dive into best management practices. The event is for California WIC staff, but you are welcomed to check out the robust agenda.
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California Nutrition Corps (CNC) Scholarships |
Don’t get too busy with holiday and end of the year activities and forget to submit your application for a CNC Scholarship. WIC staff completing an undergraduate or graduate degree in nutrition or public health, or dietetic internship are invited to apply. Details are here, but note applications are due Jan. 15, 2021 and scholarship awards notifications are provided on March 12, 2021.
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Study Suggests It's Safe for COVID+ Moms and Babies To Stay Together |
A study published today in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that the benefits outweigh the risks for infants born to COVID-19-infected parents to remain with their parents. Only 1 of 62 newborns who breastfed and roomed with their 61 COVID-19–infected mothers in the study was diagnosed as having COVID-19, suggesting that mother-to-infant transmission is rare. "We believe that SARS-CoV-2–infected mothers in good clinical condition and willing to take care of their babies should be encouraged to practice rooming-in and breastfeeding after being carefully instructed about the appropriate droplet and contact precautions," the authors wrote.
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Warning Labels Reduce Sugary Drink Consumption at Universities |
Researchers from UC Davis and University of Michigan have found that simple warning labels on sugary beverages in a college cafeteria helped students reduce their reported consumption of drinks by 14.5 percent. The results signal that such labels could reduce sugar consumption in larger settings. In total, 840 students across all cafeterias were included in the study. At the intervention site, consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks that had the warning label declined by 18.5 percent compared to a decline of 4.7 percent at the control sites at which no label was used. Students exposed to the warning labels also reduced their consumption of 100-percent juice drinks by 21 percent even though, in the experiment, juices had not been labeled as sugar-sweetened beverages.
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Nutrition Education Helps Low-Income Families Eat Healthier |
SNAP-Ed is a companion program to SNAP that provides nutrition education to many families who may be struggling to put together healthy meals on a limited budget. A new study has collected data from eight Southeastern states to evaluate the impact of programs like these, and found that adults and children in SNAP-Ed programs are more likely to make a number of positive behavior changes, including eating more fruit and vegetables.
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COVID Challenges for Farm Workers & Indigenous Communities |
Different strategies are needed for reaching the diverse California population about COVID. This article highlights the work of Mixteco Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) and Radio Indígena to ensure the Mixtec community, many living in Ventura County, are being provided accurate information on the pandemic. This community resource will be especially important as vaccines are distributed and provided.
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New: Keep Your Benefits Website
The Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition is excited to announce the launch of the national Keep Your Benefits website! The website, including its simple guide, helps immigrants and those who assist them to understand: which immigrants face a public charge test and which benefits are included in the public charge test. You can also find an explanation of the public charge rule, a page dedicated to helping individuals find immigration assistance and legal aid resources in their area, and additional resources - including an FAQ. The national site lists the federal names of the benefit programs, and has a separate page with CA-specific information. The website is also available in Spanish and Chinese. Once available, we will circulate social and press content to help partners disseminate and amplify the tool with their networks. Thanks to the partners who helped to make this launch possible: Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, Immigration Advocates Network, Probono.net, PIF-CA, CLASP, NILC. Thank you also to California Health Care Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for providing funding for the site.
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There are a number of excellent online meeting and presentation platforms available today. The products are improving constantly and so are our skills, or they should be. CWA has been working with a virtual event and speaking consultant, Robbie Samuels, to improve our ability to provide you with quality conferences and meetings. Shared here are his YouTube resources with short videos for Zoom tricks and tips. And remember, make sure to have the most recent version of Zoom to get the most out of the product.
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California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program (CalKids) |
In summer 2019, the Governor and State Legislature appropriated $25 million to the ScholarShare Investment Board for purposes of implementing and administering California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program (CalKIDS), a statewide, universal, opt‐out children’s savings account (CSA) program. CalKIDS, which is currently in development, will provide a seed deposit and possibly other financial incentives in an account within ScholarShare 529 to all eligible children born in California. CalKIDS is anticipated to launch later in 2021 and will be the largest CSA program in the country at an estimated 450,000 awards annually. Learn more about CalKIDS. CalKIDS has a holiday promotion with a Target gift card offer Dec. 9-13, 2020 for families who open new ScholarShare 529 accounts. More information is here and a toolkit for spreading the word.
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Report on Timing of Complementary Food Introduction |
The CDC has published a report titled "Timing of introduction to complementary foods – Unites States, 2016-2018." Early introduction of complementary foods prevents infants from reaching the recommended six months of exclusive breastfeeding. The report uses data from the National Survey of Children's Health and includes national and state-level estimates of early introduction of complementary foods and beverages. The report found that nearly one in three infants is introduced to complementary foods before age four months, and that the prevalence of early introduction varies geographically and across sociodemographic and infant feeding characteristics.
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Do You Have 11 Minutes A Day?
While the “statistical sweet spot” of exercise is 35 minutes a day, walking for at least 11 minutes a day could lessen the undesirable health consequences of sitting for hours and hours, according to a helpful new study. Every little bit helps, so get moving! |
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California WIC Association | www.calwic.org
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