WASHINGTON, D.C.— The Bureau of Indian Education Family & Child Education Program (FACE) has received national recognition for its exceptional work in promoting young children’s heath and preventing childhood obesity. The recognition came from the first lady’s Let’s Move! Child Care initiative, Acting Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Del Laverdure announced today.
“Incorporating Let’s Move! activities into our own Let’s Move! in Indian Country is already having a positive impact on our students in BIE schools,” said Laverdure. “I am grateful to the first lady for initiating and leading the effort to reduce childhood obesity in Indian Country. Healthy students are key to Indian Country’s future.”
The Bureau’s FACE Program was recognized at the Let’s Move! Child Care Recognition Luncheon, which took place on May 9, 2012 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. White House Assistant Chef and Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives, Sam Kass, gave keynote remarks and highlighted FACE’s efforts.
The FACE program was recognized for carrying out exceptional work to promote and implement the goals of Let’s Move! Child Care. FACE includes using creative strategies, engaging families in obesity prevention efforts, and overcoming challenges to get children moving and encourage healthy eating in early care and education settings. FACE was one of twenty programs nationwide selected for recognition out of a multitude of groups including early education and child care programs and networks, communities, and states.
“It is extremely exciting and pleasurable to have been nominated and selected for this great honor and achievement,” said BIE Director Keith Moore. “The BIE is truly dedicated to being at the forefront of the movement to build a healthier and more sustainable future for our children across Indian Country. This award acknowledges our perseverance to achieve greatness, and inspires us to keep pushing forward.”
Let’s Move! Child Care is a nationwide call-to-action to empower early education and child care programs to make positive health changes in children that could last a lifetime. The initiative focuses on five goals:
- Physical Activity: Provide one-to-two hours of physical activity throughout the day, including outside play when possible.
- Screen Time: No screen time for children under two years. For children age two and older, strive to limit screen time to no more than 30 minutes per week during child care, and work with parents and caregivers to ensure children have no more than one-to-two hours of quality screen time per day, the amount recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Food: Serve fruits or vegetables at every meal, eat meals family-style when possible, and no fried foods.
- Beverages: Provide access to water during meals and throughout the day, and do not serve sugary drinks. For children age two and older, serve low-fat (1%) or non-fat milk, and no more than one 4-6 ounce serving of 100% juice per day.
- Infant feeding: For mothers who want to continue breastfeeding, provide their milk to their infants and welcome them to breastfeed during the child care day; and support all new parents in their decisions about infant feeding.
Through Lets Move!, BIE’s FACE program emphasizes Body, Mind and Spirit. The 44 BIE FACE programs were able to collaborate with community resources, utilize Indian Health Services Physical Activity Kits in a Train-the-Trainers concept, increase Wellness programs, and add their own community twist to promoting healthy lifestyles. Humana joined forces with their partner organization, the National Center for Family Literacy, to donate pedometers, and tape measures, and create health journals for all adult students in the program.
Let’s Move! Child Care is supported by public and private partners, including the Office of the First Lady, the White House Domestic Policy Council, the Administration for Children and Families, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, Nemours, Child Care Aware of America and the University of North Carolina. For more information about Let’s Move! Child Care, please visit: www.healthykidshealthyfuture.org
The 44 FACE Programs are located in 10 states in the U.S. funded by the Bureau of Indian Education. For more information about the FACE program contact Debbie Lente-Jojola, BIE Supervisory Education Specialist and FACE National Director, or please visit: http://www.bie.edu/Programs/FACE/index.htm.
The Let’s Move in Indian Country website http://www.letsmove.gov/indiancountry includes information about resources, grants and programs available to assist schools in becoming healthier places of learning.
The Bureau of Indian Education in the U.S. Department of the Interior implements federal education laws, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, in and provides funding to 183 elementary and secondary day and boarding schools and peripheral dormitories located on 64 reservations in 23 states and serving approximately 48,000 students from the nation’s federally recognized tribes. Approximately two-thirds are tribally operated with the rest BIE-operated. The bureau also serves post secondary students through higher education scholarships and support funding to 26 tribal colleges and universities and two tribal technical colleges. It also directly operates two post secondary institutions: Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, N.M.
