Weekly InsiderSeptember 23, 2009

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.


New Resources

Improving Medicaid Managed Care for Youth with Serious Behavioral Health Needs: A Quality Improvement Toolkit, an initiative designed by the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) and made possible by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is a toolkit that shares practices tested by participating plans to improve care for children and youth.

The Public Health and Economic Benefits of Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, an article published by The New England Journal of Medicine, explores the trends in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, evidence linking these beverages to negative health effects and approaches to designing a tax system that could promote good nutrition.

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) is a national program aimed at serving the current and future needs of healthcare professionals who are seeking a trained, qualified, certified and competency-based population of healthcare interpreters.


New from the Center

THE CENTER MOVES AHEAD!  After several years of planning, on September 1, 2009 Center director Julia Graham Lear handed the Center’s leadership reins over to Olga Acosta Price, who during her 3 1⁄2 years with the Center has served as its deputy director and most recently co-director. Olga has been the director for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation initiative, Caring Across Communities, that is modeling new ways of building school-connected mental health services for immigrant and refugee youth. Julia remains with the Center as its Senior Adviser but is also now serving as Interim Chair for the Department of Prevention and Community Health in the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. The Center is an affiliate of the department. As always, both Olga and Julia can be reached at 202-466-3396. See Olga's bio below as well as a message from Julia. 

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Meet the new Center director!
Olga joined the Center in early 2006. She came from the DC Department of Mental Health where she had launched the School Mental Health Program and nurtured its growth over six years. Previously Olga, who was trained as a clinical psychologist at SUNY-Buffalo and the University of Maryland, worked as Associate Director at the Center for School Mental Health Assistance, University of Maryland. She's been a long-term board member and volunteer with the DC Assembly on School-Based Health Care and the Montgomery County Citizen's Review Panel for Children. She is the mother of the best-looking, most
energetic three-year-old in the greater Washington area (that would be Owen) and is the only Center staff member with a reliably neat desk.

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Thoughts on new beginnings from Julia:
As school people, we see September as the true beginning of the year. In keeping with our sense of fresh starts, we are announcing an exciting transition at the Center-- moving from our founding years to a new phase of growth and development. It has been a great honor to work with so many of you in your important efforts to make the lives of children and their families better through effective school-connected care. Your commitment to children and to quality school-based services has been an unfailing inspiration for us at the Center. Hence, I can't tear myself away. While I will continue to work with the Center, I am delighted to announce that we have a new leader in Olga Acosta Price. Her imagination and talent will sustain us where we are strong; her fresh perspectives on long-term issues will take us in new and productive directions. Please join Theresa, Brandi, Donna and me in wishing Olga and the Center well on their new journey. Best wishes, Julia.

To view photos and bios of the Center staff, click here.

New Presentations Posted to the Website

The Future is Now: Supporting the Needs of Immigrant and Refugee Children at School. 2009 School Health Interdisciplinary Program Conference, Ellicott City, MD. August 3, 2009.
The presentation summarizes recent immigration trends nationally and in the state of Maryland. It also describes several projects the Center has been working through the RWJF Caring Across Communities initiative. These projects have created a range of services that address both the academic and emotional needs of children and they offer lessons that others can use.

Building Successful School-Health Partnerships: Meeting the Challenges of Working Across Systems. Grantmakers in Health, Washington, DC. May 29, 2009.
While schools and health organizations share a commitment to children's well-being, they have profoundly different organizational structures and operate in very different political environments. The presentation explains how the systems differ and how good partnership practices can overcome differences.

Important Topic

Family Health and Fitness

•    CHHCS: Fitness and Exercise Resources

•    Fitness and Kids: Family Fitness

•    Kids Health: Kids and Exercise

•    Apple & Eve: Exercising Together: Ideas for Fitting Exercise into your Family's Day

Upcoming Meetings

•    Bethesda, MD: National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics. September 23-24, 2009. For more information and to register to this event, please visit: http://www.nchpeg.org/annualmeeting.aspx?sc=Meeting&sub=6

•    Webinar: Innovative Solutions in Public Health Preparedness. September 29, 2009 at 12:00-1:00 PM (EDT). For more information and to register for this event, please visit: http://www.naccho.org/events/innovative-solutions-webinar.cfm

•    Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children. October 1-3, 2009. For more information and to register for this event, please visit: http://www.ncaeyc.org/

•    Anaheim, CA: School Wellness Conference. October 6-7, 2009. For more information and to register for this event, please visit: http://swc.csba.org/Default.aspx

•    Tampa, FL: Celebrating Healthy Teens and Young Families: 30 Years of Making a Difference. October 21-24, 2009. For more information and to register for this event, please visit: http://healthyteenconference.org/default.aspx

•    Atlanta, GA: National Environmental Public Health Conference. October 26-28, 2009. For more information and to register for this event, please visit: http://www.team-psa.com/2009nephc/main.asp

Previously Posted Meetings

•    CDC Webinar: Child Maltreatment Prevention as a Public Health Priority. September 10, 2009, 1:00 PM ET. For more information and to register for the event, please click here

•    Bethesda, MD: AHRQ 2009 Annual Conference - Research to Reform: Achieving Health System Change. September 13-16, 2009. For more information and to register for this even, please visit: http://meetings.capconcorp.com/ahrq/

•    Web Conference: Planning for an Influenza Pandemic in the Home Health Care Sector. September 23, 2009, 1:00 PM ET. For more information and to register for this even, please visit: http://www.ahrq.gov/about/flupheweb.htm

•    Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents- Recognizing & Treating the Emerging Epidemic. September 25, 2009. For more information and to register for this event, please click here

•    Palatine, IL: Exceptional Help for the Exceptional Child. September 26, 2009. For more information and to register for this event, please click here

•    Philadelphia, PA: Association of Schools of Public Health Annual Meeting. November 7-10, 2009. For more information and to register for this event, please visit: http://www.asph.org/document.cfm?page=930

Job Opportunities

•    Community Mediation Services, Inc. - Youth Development Counselor (Far Rockaway, NY)
•    Mental Health Association of Montgomery County - Bilingual School-Based Youth Counselor (Rockville, MD)
•    Chelmsford Public School - School Nurse (North Chalemsford, MA)
•    Enosburg Falls Schools - School Nurse (Richford, VT)
•    The Latin American Health Institute - Director of Research and Evaluation (Boston, MA)
•    The Institute for Children and Poverty - Managing Research Associate (New York, NY)

Grant Alerts

Nickelodeon - Big Green Help Grant (Deadline: Rolling)
Nickelodeon's Big Green Help grant is providing resources to schools and community-based organizations to support environmentally friendly projects that educate and inspire kids to take care of the environment; be active and live healthily; and engage in community service.

United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Youth Solidarity Fund - Youth Civic Engagement Grant (Deadline: 9/30/09)
The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Youth Solidarity Fund is sponsoring a grant for youth-led projects that foster mutual respect and understanding and encourage long-term positive relationships between people from different cultures and religions. The establishment of the Youth Solidarity Fund was created to answer the calls to action from youth organizations and networks made around the world.

First 5 San Bernardino - Emerging Needs Grant Program (San Bernardino, CA) (Deadline: 10/9/09)
First 5 San Bernardino announces the Emerging Needs 2009 Request for Proposals.  The program will award funds up to $100,000 for creative proposals that address and meet the needs of San Bernardino children up to five years old and their families. The purpose of First 5 San Bernardino is to ensure that local communities are engaged and empowered to support the healthy development of young children; preparing children to succeed in school; and ensuring families are safe and healthy.

Youth Service America - Youth Leaders for Literacy Grant (Deadline: 10/30/09)
Youth Service America is partnering with the National Education Association to offer Youth Leaders for Literacy grants to children and youth, ages 5 through 25, who offer creative ways to increase literacy skills and appreciation for reading among their peers.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - Scholars in Health Policy Research Fellowship (Deadline:  10/21/09)
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Health Policy Research program is designed to help develop a new generation of creative health policy thinkers and researchers within the disciplines of economics, political science, and sociology.

The Fund For Teachers - Teacher Development Grant (Deadline: 11/2/09)
The Fund for Teachers gives teachers the freedom to design their own professional development experiences. Applicants document their vision in a proposal detailing how their summer fellowship will make them a better teacher and the ways in which their experience will impact their curricula.

National AIDS Fund and Johnson & Johnson - Generations: Strengthening Women and Families Affected by HIV/AIDS Grant  (Deadline: 11/2/09)
The National AIDS Fund and Johnson & Johnson have announced the availability of funds through the Generations: Strengthening Women and Families Affected by HIV/AIDS program.

New Resources

Improving Medicaid Managed Care for Youth with Serious Behavioral Health Needs: A Quality Improvement Toolkit shares lessons from the Collaborative on Improving Managed Care Quality for Youth with Serious Behavioral Health Needs, an initiative designed by the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) and made possible by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Created as a resource for Medicaid health plans, state purchasers, and families of youth with serious behavioral health needs, the toolkit presents practices tested by participating plans to improve care for children and youth, and the resulting impact on access, care, and avoidance of unnecessary services and costs; challenges identified and addressed by the plan and lessons learned; and opportunities for continued innovations in care for children and youth with serious behavioral health needs.

The Public Health and Economic Benefits of Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages,  an article released in the online edition of The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that a tax of 1 cent per ounce on sugar-sweetened beverages could raise as much as $14.5 billion in the first year alone. This article explores the trends in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, evidence linking these beverages to negative health effects and approaches to designing a tax system that could promote good nutrition and help the nation recover health care costs associated with the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.


The Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) is a national program aimed at serving the current and future needs of healthcare professionals who are seeking a trained, qualified, certified and competency-based population of healthcare interpreters. The goal of CCHI is to ensure the competency of interpreters through an accredited, professional certification program so that communication barriers do not affect access to and quality of care. CCHI was incorporated in July 2009 as an independent certification agency and 501(c)(6) organization in compliance with requirements of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for certification commissions. In the next two years, CCHI commissioners will develop and direct a comprehensive certification program for healthcare interpreters.


Job Opportunities

Community Mediation Services, Inc. - Youth Development Counselor (Far Rockaway, NY)
Community Mediation Services, Inc. (CMS), a non profit agency based in Jamaica, Queens, is pleased to announce that the School Based Program Department is currently searching for a Youth Development Counselor to support and provide services to at-risk youth in Queens. The mission of CMS is to promote collaborative problem solving for youth, their families, individuals, institutions and organizations within a diverse community. Responsibilities include conducting student intakes, student recruitment, counseling sessions and monitoring client progress. For more information and to apply to this position, please visit: http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/346885-181

Mental Health Association of Montgomery County - Bilingual School-Based Youth Counselor (Rockville, MD)
The Mental Health Association of Montgomery County (MHA) manages 11 major direct service programs for children, teens, families, senior adults and individuals with long-term mental illness in Montgomery County, Maryland. MHA has an immediate opening for a  part-time bilingual Spanish speaking school-based youth counselor. Eligible applicants will have a Masters in Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy or Counseling and two years of direct clinical therapy experience. Responsibilities include developing curriculum, facilitating psycho-educational groups for students and providing support for at-risk youth. For more information and to apply to this position, please visit: http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/351054-269

Chelmsford Public School - School Nurse (North Chelmsford, MA)
Chelmsford Public Schools is seeking a full-time school nurse to provide professional health services and coordinate the resources of the school, home and community as they pertain to the health and safety of students, staff and clients. Applicants should have a current Massachusetts nursing license, Bachelor's degree and one to three years experience in pediatrics, community health, education or related field. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: administering medications and treatments; maintaining accurate health records;  assessing and evaluating student health; and maintaining First Aid supplies and equipment. For more information and to apply to this posting, please visit: http://www.schoolspring.com/job.cfm?jid=31353

Enosburg Falls Schools - School Nurse (Richford, VT)
The Enosburg Falls Elementary, Middle & High School are have an immediate opening for a full-time school nurse for the 2009-2010 school year. Eligible applicants should have two years relevant experience, a bachelors degree and citizenship, residency or work VISA in the United States. For more information and to apply to this posting, please visit: http://www.schoolspring.com/job.cfm?jid=26275

The Latin American Health Institute - Director of Research and Evaluation (Boston, MA)
The Latin American Health Institute (LHI) is seeking qualified applicants to fill the position of Director of Research and Evaluation. The successful applicant will oversee a variety of organizational research and evaluation activities of LHI, including: supervising evaluations of public health-related federally-funded programs in Boston and Brockton; developing evaluation plans and proposals for social services, community health, and education and training programs; and mentoring junior level evaluation and research staff. Applicants should have a doctorate degree, two years relevant experience and knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. For more information and to apply to this position, please visit: http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/351779-151

The Institute for Children and Poverty - Managing Research Associate (New York, NY)
The Institute for Children and Poverty (ICP) is a nonprofit research organization that works to provide timely analysis and recommendations that will enhance public policies and programs affecting poor or homeless children and their families. The Managing Research Associate will be responsible for leading small teams and individual researchers in projects pertaining to the connections between child poverty and social policies including health, child welfare, education, employment, and housing. The position will require daily administrative duties including office and personnel management and fulfilling supervisory functions. Applicants should have a Masters in Public Policy or Social Science and three years management experience. For more information and to apply to this position, please visit:
http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/345852-38