Updated Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) Tool

Published: June 2017

ID #: CAS037

Authors: Dianne Ward, EdD

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The Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) is a tool designed to evaluate practices, environmental attributes, and policies of early care and education settings that influence children’s nutrition, physical activity, and sedentary environments. The tool has been updated to assess all current best practices in Go NAP SACC. The EPAO has been expanded to include a self-report version to ease the burden of having trained researchers conduct full day observations. In addition, the observation tool has been adapted for use in family child care homes. Available resources include training videos, observation forms, and data entry tables. Additional materials and training presentations will be available in the future.

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Keywords: Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), Child Care/Preschool, Food service, Nutrition standards, Physical activity

Focus Area: Early Childhood

Age Groups: Pregnant women, infants and toddlers (ages 0 to 2), Preschool-age children (ages 3 to 5)

Resource Type: Tools & Measures

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