Smart Start Advances Child Health and Development for Each Child in Every Community
The Smart Start Network works year-round to ensure children and families are supported, creating a brighter future for each child in every community. Each Local Partnership provides critical social and emotional support, needed resources and referrals, crucial infrastructure support, and innovative solutions to ensure children have what they need to thrive. To celebrate the new year, Smart Start will showcase the impact of the Network with early care and education, family support, early literacy, health and nutrition, and with early childhood system support and building. To learn more about Smart Start, you can read Smart Start’s 2021-2022 Impact Report.
Smart Start Local Partnerships work locally to advance child health and nutrition and to ensure children and families have the tools they need to establish healthy behavior patterns.
In particular, Child Care Health Consultants (CCHCs) play an important role in ensuring the health and development of young children. CCHCs are trained health professionals who work with child care programs to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate strategies to achieve high quality, safe and healthy environments. NCPC and the Smart Start Network have worked with partners to expand access to CCHCs to every county in the state.
In 2021-2022, Smart Start’s focus on health led to:
- 56 medical practices and physicians participating in Assuring Better Child Health & Development (ABCD), a program that works to increase health and developmental screening and referral rates for all young children.
- 94 child care centers and homes serving up to 4,717 children as part of the Nutrition and Physical Activity Self- Assessment for Child Care (GO NAP SACC) program
- 139 child care centers and homes receiving support from Child Care Health Consultants, serving up to 7,063 children.
Local Support is Key
Due to the Network’s hard work, the following impacts have been made locally:
- The Partnership for Children of Cumberland County identified several children with special health care needs at a center. CCHCs provided guidance on obtaining medical action plans and medication administration documentation from parents/guardians. Health training was also provided to directors and staff. The members were very appreciative of the training as they felt more knowledgeable about caring for children.
- The Orange County’s Partnership for Young Children began Growing Up Healthy to increase physical activity, nutrition, and outdoor learning best practices for children. The program recently assisted eight centers, resulting in teachers and children spending more time outside engaging in active play. The program also helped children endure the challenges of the pandemic.
You can learn more about the impact Smart Start has had across the state with early care and education by reading Smart Start’s 2021-2022 Annual Report.
