Nemours Foundation Building Sustainability in Delaware

By Kate DuPont Phillips

Creating sustainable systems for CATCH Kids Club (CKC) implementation is a primary goal of the Nemours Health and Prevention Services ( NHPS) Youth Serving Organizations Sector in 2008. CATCH Kids Club helps NHPS partners to teach children about and create a supportive environment for our 5-2-1-Almost None healthy lifestyle behaviors: Eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day, spending no more than two hours per day in front of a screen, getting at least one hour of physical activity per day and drinking almost no sugary beverages. CKC specifically supports the “5” and “1” behaviors and is promoted as an evidence-based program by NHPS because the CKC research trial demonstrated positive effects in nutrition knowledge, healthy eating intentions and behaviors, as well as self-efficacy for healthy food choices and participation in physical activity.

Nemours Health & Prevention Services has trained 38 organizations with 120 sites on CATCH or CATCH Kids Club, physical activity and nutrition education programs designed for elementary school aged children (grades K – 5) in school, after-school or summer settings. Over 13,800 children in Delaware have been reached through CATCH Kids Club programming. CATCH and CATCH Kids Club aim to equip children with the knowledge, skills, self-efficacy, and intentions to make healthy dietary and physical activity decisions. Physical activity is heavily emphasized, with the goals of: providing children at least 30 minutes of quality physical activity per day of which half (15 min) is moderate to vigorous, many opportunities to participate and practice skills, and a variety of enjoyable physical activities.

The YMCA of Delaware currently implements CATCH Kids Club in all of its nearly 50 afterschool sites. The YMCA mandates three days a week of CKC physical activity, and has added the CKC nutrition curriculum this year on an additional day. They have found a way to integrate CKC oversight into an already existing Child Care Quality Team, enabling continuous feedback on implementation, and conduct program evaluations three times per year. Nemours and the YMCA hope to collaborate in 2008 to provide technical assistance on CATCH Kids Club to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware and the University of Delaware 4-H. The goal is to use lessons learned from the YMCA to enable strong, sustainable CKC implementation and evaluation in those organizations.

The prevalence of unhealthy snacks in afterschool programs is primary concern of our youth serving partners. To address this, NHPS is also collaborating with the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) to create healthy food guidelines for snacks served in afterschool setting, and to make healthy foods affordable and available through statewide vendors. The availability of healthy snacks in afterschool programs will support the behaviors taught in the CATCH Nutrition Curriculum.

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