This project will provide new data about the potential for local governments to take meaningful action to prevent childhood obesity through policy implementation in child-care settings. Because local laws often serve as drivers of state law, this research will help inform childhood obesity prevention policy both at state and local levels around the nation. This study aims to: 1) determine the scope of local government authority to impose nutrition and physical activity standards in child-care settings in all 50 states; 2) examine specific local government regulations and other strategies for addressing nutrition and physical activity; and 3) identify examples of promising or innovative local government practices. Investigators will use legal analytical methods to research and examine state and local laws relating to nutrition and physical activity standards for child care. Final products will include: 1) a simple, accessible 50-state database showing which states permit local child-care regulation and to what extent, and 2) analyses and summaries of promising and innovative practices in local child-care regulation designed to prevent childhood obesity.
Start Date: September 2011
ID #: 69299
Principal Investigator: Natasha Frost, JD
Co-Principal Investigator: Melissa Rodgers, JD, EdM
Organization: Public Health Law Center, Inc.
Funding Round: Round 6
Keywords: Child Care/Preschool, Nutrition standards, Physical activity
Focus Area: Early Childhood
Resource Type: Grant Summary
State: National
Age Group: Preschool-age children (ages 3 to 5)
Related Research
April 2024
Height and Weight Measurement and Communication With Families in Head Start: Developing a Toolkit and Establishing Best Practices
Head start (HS) programs are required to collect children’s height and weight data. Programs also communicate these results to families. However, no standardized protocol exists to guide measurements or communicate results. The purpose of this article was to describe the development of a measurement toolkit and best practices for communication. HS programs contributed to the MoreNovember 2023
State Agency Perspectives on Successes and Challenges of Administering the Child and Adult Care Food Program
The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) improves nutrition and reduces food insecurity for young children while helping cover food costs for care providers and families. Despite its important benefits, the program is underutilized. This report uses qualitative interviews with state CACFP administrators representing 28 states to explore federal and state policies and practices that support or discourage CACFP participation among licensed child MoreNovember 2023