Weekly InsiderFebruary 01, 2012

The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools Weekly Insider is a web-enhanced newsletter that offers news alerts, grant announcements and general web site updates delivered directly to your email box on a weekly basis. The Center is located at the School of Public Health and Health Services at The George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

What We're Reading: Julia

Julia Suggests...

• Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
• School Mental Health Services for the 21st Century
  "While mostly focusing on the District of Columbia, interspersed through the report are a wealth of lessons learned from researchers and practitioners in school mental health from around the country."
• A Continuous Quality Improvement Tool for School-Based Health Centers
  "SBHCs were early adopters of CQI tools. ‘Making the case’ for SBHCs or any other child service at school has never been more important than it is today. This is a resource to be drawn upon."
• MPI Data Hub
  "School faculty and health professionals see the changing face of American K–12 education at school daily. The terrific researchers at the Migration Policy Institute provide the data and analyses to explain the changes."

Looking for a Spring Internship?

CHHCS has excellent volunteer opportunities for individuals interested in children’s health and the delivery of health programs in schools. Duties include assisting the program assistant by serving as office receptionist, and aiding in the collection, organization, and presentation of new information for the weekly newsletter. General office clerical experience is required. For a full description, click here.

Center Resources

Important Topic

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month

• National Maternal & Child Oral Health Resource Center: Knowledge Path
  
  
• National Conference of State Legislatures: Children’s Oral Health
  
  
• School-Based Dental Health
  
  
• Best Practice Approach for Improving Children’s Oral Health at School
  

New Resources

Family-centered Program Deters Substance Use, Conduct Problems, and Depressive Symptoms in Black Adolescents, published in Pediatrics, assessed the effectiveness of a new family-centered preventive intervention on adolescent behavior in rural Georgia. The Strong African American Families-Teen (SAAF-T) intervention program consisted of five consecutive meetings (2 hours each) held at community facilities, and included separate parent and adolescent skill-building curricula. Parents were taught consistent use of monitoring and control among other skills and adolescents were taught the importance of academic success, goal formation and strategies for attaining educational and occupational goals. The results showed that families randomly assigned to the SAAF-T program showed lower increases in conduct problem behavior, substance use, and depressive symptom frequency than the control group in the 22 months between pretest and long-term assessment.

Outcomes of an Elementary School-Based Vision Screening Program in North Carolina, a study published in the Journal of School Nursing, explores the role school nurses play in the detection of significant refractive error. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a statewide school nurse vision screening program by evaluating the outcomes of screening among first, third, and fifth graders in 10 schools in North Carolina during the 2009–2010 school year. Of the 2,726 children who were screened, 7.7% (n = 209) were abnormal, of which 89% (n = 186) were placed into a comprehensive database for follow-up. No documentation of any follow-up was available for 35% (n = 65) of these children. Of the 106 with complete eye examination data available, 54.7% (n = 58) had myopia, 22.6% (n = 24) had hyperopia, 11.3% (n = 12) had astigmatism, 1.9% (n = 2) had anisometropia, and 9.4% (n = 10) were normal. Even with incomplete follow-up, this screening activity led to identification of 3 cases for every 100 children screened, underscoring the importance of high-quality school-based vision screening programs.

Social Networks, Co-offending, and Gang Membership Among Latino Youth, a presentation by Urban Institute summarizes findings from the Norms and Networks of Latino Youth project, funded by OJJDP. Youth in a small neighborhood were surveyed about their own pro-social and delinquent behaviors and their social networks. Survey respondents named 20 close contacts and answered questions about those individuals. Using social network analysis methods, we examined both personal networks and individual delinquency and the whole network (comprising all youths’ overlapping contacts), to analyze group behaviors related to co-offending and peer influence. The findings are relevant to developing appropriate interventions for delinquency and shed light on the efficacy of neighborhood-based interventions.

Job Opportunities

Oasis – A Haven for Women and Children—Executive Director (Paterson, NJ)
Oasis, a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to women and children living in need, is currently seeking a full-time Executive Director. Responsibilities of the position include working with the Board of Directors to develop programs and fundraise, providing leadership in overall strategic and financial planning, and ensuring programs remain consistent with the mission, objectives and strategic vision. Qualifications for the position include a Bachelor’s Degree, at least five years of management experience, preferably in the nonprofit arena, and development and fundraising experience. For more information and to apply for this position, please visit: http://www.idealist.org/view/job/ZC2HGGJ94K5P/

Groton-Dunstable Regional School District—Substitute School Nurse (Groton, MA)
The Groton-Dunstable Regional School District is currently seeking a part-time substitute School Nurse for the Florence Roche Elementary School. The School serves 559 students in grades K-4 and operates on the philosophy that students learn best in an environment that is emotionally and physically safe and welcoming. Qualifications of the position include a valid Registered Nursing license for the state of Massachusetts, at least five years of relevant experience, and a Bachelor’s Degree is preferred. For more information and to apply for this position, please visit: http://www.schoolspring.com/job.cfm?jid=60446

Save the Children—Associate Director, Education and Child Development (Washington, DC)
The US headquarters of Save the Children is currently seeking a full-time Associate Director for the Education and Child Development program. Responsibilities of the position include tracking department budgets, assisting with operational planning, and reviewing technical aspects of job descriptions for consultants and partners. Qualifications for the position include a Bachelor’s Degree, five to seven years of financial management experience, and three to five years of experience managing complex projects, such as preparing proposals for USAID. For more information and to apply for this position, please visit: http://www.idealist.org/view/job/tS2Fd339zj74/

Worcester Public Schools—School Nurse (Worcester, MA)
Worcester Public Schools are currently seeking a full-time School Nurse for the anticipated opening of a new school. Responsibilities of the position include implementing state-mandated programs such as immunization surveillance and screening programs, maintaining comprehensive school health records, collaborating with administrators and personnel in improving social and emotional climate for students and faculty, and providing medically based interventions, including medication administration. Qualifications for the position include a valid Registered Nursing license in the state of Massachusetts, a Bachelor’s Degree, and current CPR and First Aid certification. For more information and to apply for this position, please visit: http://www.schoolspring.com/job.cfm?jid=64832

The Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health—Woodmont House Manager (Bethesda, MD)
The Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is currently seeking a full-time Manager for the Woodmont House. Responsibilities of the position include clarifying policies and procedures to residents, meet reasonable needs of the House residents, monitoring housekeeping and house maintenance activities, and maintaining communication with the Inn and community at large. Qualifications for the position include a Bachelor’s degree in a human services field and one to three years of experience in human services and/or health care. A Master’s degree and Spanish speaking/writing are highly preferred. For more information and to apply for this position, please visit: http://www.idealist.org/view/job/kBzHMK3t44FP/

Gateway Healthcare, Inc.—School Nurse (Pawtucket, RI)
Gateway Healthcare, Inc. is currently seeking a full-time School Nurse for the Valley Community School. Responsibilities of the position include dispersing medication, monitoring student and staff injuries, managing student physicals and immunization records, and ordering restraints and seclusions when needed. Qualifications for the position include a Registered Nursing license from the Rhode Island Department of Health and citizenship or work VISA in the United States. For more information and to apply for this position, please visit: http://www.schoolspring.com/job.cfm?jid=65211

Upcoming Meetings

Sacramento, CA: California School Health Centers Association’s statewide conference, Vision & Voice for Healthy Students. March 12-13 2012. For more information about this event, please visit: http://www.schoolhealthcenters.org/about-cshc/cshc-conference/

Austin, TX: 6th Annual Michael & Susan Dell Lectureship in Child Health. March 22, 2012. For more information and to register for this event, please visit: http://msdcenter.eventbrite.com/

Washington, DC: The Global Summit on Childhood. March 28-31, 2012. For more information and to register for this event, please visit: http://www.acei.org/conferences/annual-conferences.html

Previously Posted Meetings

• Webinar: Strong Roots and Bright Futures: Promoting Successful Adjustment for Refugee Youth. February 8, 2012, 12:30 – 1:30 pm EST. For more information and to register for this event, please visit: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22EB65PRU3Z

• Greenville, SC: Annual Greenville Family Symposium. March 29-30, 2012. For more information and to register for this event, please visit: http://familysymposium.com/

• Orlando, FL: National School Safety Conference. July 23-27, 2012. For more information and to register for this event, please visit: http://www.schoolsafety911.org/event.html

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