October 28, 2020
CLOCC NEWS
Shape the Refresh of the 2021-25 Policy Agenda
Complete CLOCC's Policy Agenda Survey by Friday, Nov. 6th

Strong policy strategies are a crucial component of CLOCC's social-ecological approach to childhood obesity prevention and, in this tumultuous political climate, the Consortium will benefit from clear and well-founded policy principles to guide our collective efforts. CLOCC partners are encouraged to help shape the refresh of the CLOCC Policy Agenda, which will guide our policy and advocacy actions for the next five years.

Completing the survey below will assist CLOCC with focusing its policy revisions. Watch future newsletters for details about the 2021-25 Policy Agenda announcement.

Since the Consortium's inception in 2002, the CLOCC Policy Agendas have provided guidance and support to partners seeking approaches to policy change that make healthy eating and active living accessible for all children and families, and have helped us advocate for strong communities to nurture and protect them. The Consortium's Policy Agendas are forged through years of policy and advocacy work in the City of Chicago and across the country, and reflect the thinking of some of the city’s and nation’s best-known experts in childhood obesity prevention.

Please lend your voice and expertise to the 2021-2025 CLOCC Policy Agenda by completing the survey link below. Contact CLOCC with any questions at info@clocc.net. You can review the 2016-2020 Policy Agenda here.
Protracted Court Battles to Protect SNAP Benefits See Positive Outcomes
On Thursday, October 22, the Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., struck down the Trump administration's plan to restrict Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility for more than 700,000 unemployed Americans. Announced in December of 2019, and originally slated to go into effect on April 1, the proposed rule was expected to force "able-bodied adults without dependents" (ABAWDs) to lose access to their nutrition benefits. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had announced the rule despite months of opposition from health advocates, economists, political leaders and others.

A lawsuit filed in January by a multistate coalition contested that the rule would have severely limited states’ flexibility to provide food assistance to individuals struggling to find work. The D.C. District court agreed, blocking the rule initially on March 13, and upholding that decision again this month in response to appeals, with a robust ruling which called the Trump Administration's attempt "arbitrary and capricious," according to the Washington Post.

In additional food security news, the State of Pennsylvania won a battle with the USDA this week, solidifying its right to structure emergency, supplemental SNAP funding to benefit low earners with greatest need. Similar legal battles are ongoing in California and elsewhere.

SNAP in the News



New CPS Local School Wellness Policy Now Open for Comment 
From IPHI: Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has updated their Local School Wellness Policy for Students (LSWP), which is now open for public comment. The deadline to submit comments is Monday, November 9th.

CLOCC partners are encouraged to submit comments and are welcome use the IAPO language to adapt for your own submissions. The coalition supports most of the updates and offers a few recommendations for further improvements.

For your reference, here are links to the previous CPS LSWP and the updated LSWP.
Last Call: Provide Your Feedback on Chicago's ETOD Policy
Via chicago.gov: The new Chicago eTOD Policy Plan outlines a comprehensive set of actions for the City to take to advance racial equity, wealth building, public health and climate resilience goals through equitable Transit-Oriented Development (eTOD). Recommendations were informed through a cross-sector engagement process and analysis of City programs, and an evaluation framework focused on outcomes, equity, and implementation criteria.

In partnership with Elevated Chicago, an eTOD Work Group was created to engage over 70 stakeholders representing numerous City departments, community-based organizations, the private sector, philanthropies, and regional non-profit and governmental partners. The City invites public comment on the Draft eTOD Policy Plan: Submit comments to etod@cityofchicago.org by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 29th.
Ten Years of the Alliance: RSVP for IAPO's Annual Meeting

Join the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity (IAPO) coalition next month as they celebrate a decade of obesity prevention. This year, IAPO will be hosting a virtual convening on November 16th and 17th, 2020, to recognize the past 10 years and to look ahead on our work to create a healthy and equitable Illinois.

Monday, 11/16, 3:00-4:30 PM: Look back at the successes and lessons learned from the past ten years, including the Rethink Your Drink campaign, supporting enhanced physical education in schools, and building a successful statewide coalition.

Tuesday, 11/17, 1:00-3:00 PM: Looking ahead to the spring 2021 policy agenda, the next three years of ISPAN, and planning for the next 10 years of IAPO, including regional landscape scan breakout sessions.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Webinar Opportunity: Happy Healthy Providers
Join University of Illinois Extension SNAP-Ed and family life educators in a free webinar series that explores ways to manage stress and support children in building a foundation for positive habits that last a lifetime.

Early childcare staff are in a position to positively impact children’s nutrition choices throughout the day. Learn about instilling the importance of positive role models in your early care facility, how to incorporate role modeling into your nutrition policy, and explore ideas for providing staff nutrition education.

  • NOVEMBER 10th: "Being Mindful in a Busy Childcare Setting"
  • NOVEMBER 17th: "Healthy Eating Starts with Role Modeling"
  • FREE online webinar series for childcare professionals
  • Registration required: CLICK HERE

Earn 4 hours of continuing education by participating in all four events. Illinois Extension is an Approved Entity for Illinois Gateways to Opportunity Registry®️
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Health Educator,
Common Threads

Common Threads is collaborating with National Health Corps (NHC) Chicago to recruit for a full-time, Chicago-based health educator. NHC Chicago fosters healthy communities by connecting those who need it most with health and wellness education, benefits and services, while developing tomorrow’s compassionate health leaders.

Preferred qualifications: experience teaching, working with kids, and classroom management, basic knowledge of nutrition and/or experience cooking, reliable access to internet, computer skills.

Projects may include: Recruit, teach, and coordinate students and families for basic nutrition and healthy cooking. Create lesson plans for Family VeggieRx Program.
Alliance for a Healthier Generation,
Senior National Advisor

This is an exciting time to join Healthier Generation as its brand and programmatic work rapidly evolve to address a more comprehensive and holistic approach to children’s health. 

The Senior National Advisor for Food Systems (Senior Advisor) plays a lead role in cross-sector strategy to support communities and engage businesses to ensure healthy food access for children and families. They work with colleagues and partners to develop, expand, improve and implement systemic, national and community-based approaches across settings to ensure all children, particularly those facing hunger and food insecurity, have the opportunity to eat healthfully every day.
FOCUS UPSTREAM
CLOCC focuses upstream to identify the fundamental root causes of obesity, and to broaden the scope of our obesity prevention strategies. This work draws from local and national attention to health equity and social influencers of health, such as immigration, education, poverty and racism, all of which have an impact on people's ability to eat healthy and be active where they live, work, learn, and play. If you have comments or questions about this focus, we invite you to reach out to info@clocc.net.
Webinar Opportunity: Modern Redlining
November 13, 2020 , 7:00-8:00 PM
The third of four panel discussions connecting Technology and Social Justice. This virtual hour-long discussion will explore the ways in which biased algorithms used to assign property values, terms and conditions for loans, and eligibility for rental space, produce negative outcomes for people of color. Event co-sponsored by the University of Illinois - Chicago and Illinois Institute of Technology. View flyer.
CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN THE MEDIA
RESOURCES: CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)
As our public health community responds collectively to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, CLOCC will work to provide partners with timely, useful information to help leaders, organizations and families navigate uncharted waters. Suggestions for this newsletter feature can be forwarded to info@clocc.net.
Do you have questions about COVID-19? Lurie Children's COVID-19 Call Center is now OPEN. You can call (312) 227-5300 and speak with a Lurie Children's nurse with questions related to testing criteria, symptoms, donations, or general information. The Call Center is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and closed Sunday.

VOTING IN THE PANDEMIC
  • APHA’s The Nation’s Health featured Healthy Voting Guides in its August issue. These guides were drafted by the APHA, the National Association of County and City Officials, Center for Tech and Civic Life, and Center for Civic Design. The guides are available by state and have information to help people vote safely in local, State and National elections. You can get more information and download the Illinois guide here.

RESEARCH AND REPORTS
  • The Board on Science Education of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, in collaboration with the Academies’ Board on Children, Youth, and Families (BCYF) and Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Disease, convened the Committee on Guidance for K-12 Education on Responding to COVID-19. Download the report.


FOOD ACCESS



  • Food Systems Leadership Network COVID-19 Response Group: The Food Systems Leadership Network COVID-19 Response Group listserv, unique among the many opportunities food systems leaders have to connect and share information and resources, is focused specifically on identifying, amplifying, and replicating the solutions, innovations, and collaborations that are emerging in communities across the US in response to and in the wake of COVID-19.

RESOURCES FOR EDUCATION & CHILD CARE

  • Common Threads is offering our Small Bites Nutrition Education program for FREE to Elementary Students in an On-Demand format. Learners can explore nutrition topics through nine interactive lessons hosted on the educational platform Nearpod. Each lesson will feature engaging activities, snack making videos, and more. Click here.

  • Action for Healthy Kids created and collected resources to help families, educators and school staff keep kids active and stay healthy while navigating a new school year amid uncertainty. Resources will be added continually.

  • The Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition has amassed a comprehensive list of digital education resources, organized by subject and supplemented with links to digital support services. While CCLC focuses on adult education, many resources listed are applicable to families and head-of-households.

  • Pilot Light’s Family Resources are designed for parents and children to provide a time of learning and deeper connection through the act of sharing and making food. This library of resources will continue to grow and include Family Lessons in both English and Spanish, Family Meal Videos, recipes, and more as a way to bring food education into homes.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

  • Per Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), COVID-19 Isolation Facilities are being offered free of charge to individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are unable to safely isolate in their own homes or congregate living facilities. View information here (.PDF).

  • ChangeLab Solutions is maintaining a library of COVID-19 resource material that includes sections on legal preparedness, food security, housing, violence prevention and more.


  • Access Living has COVID-19 resources for the disability community, with information tailored to additional audiences including those caring for elders, the LGBTQ community, sex workers and people with high-risk comorbidities. This page will be updated routinely during the crisis.



FUNDING AND RECOGNITION OPPORTUNITIES
  • The annual America Walks Community Change Grants are now open for applications. This program aims to provide support to a network of advocates, grassroots organizers, organizations, and agencies using innovative, engaging, and inclusive programs and projects to create tangible change at the community level. We are looking to fund projects that: Increase physical activity and active transportation in a specific community; Work to cross engage people and organizations newer to the efforts of walking and moving and walkability; Demonstrate a culture of antiracism and inclusive health and design; Support and cultivate connected, active and deeply engaged communities. Deadline is November 9th. Learn more or apply here.
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