EDC Chosen by CDC to Lead New Initiative on Improving Health in Out-of-School Time

EDC has been selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to lead the new national Collaborative for Advancing Healthy Experiences in Out-of-School Time (CAHE-OST). Through the Collaborative, EDC will support CDC-funded state education agencies, districts, schools, and OST programs with using and evaluating effective practices, programs, and polices to improve children’s and teens’ health in out-of-school time settings.

EDC and our partner the National Afterschool Association (NAA) will work to support leaders and providers in significantly enhancing the health and well-being of youth and staff in OST programs. Led by project director Kate Goddard, CAHE-OST will provide evaluation, continuous quality improvement, and training and technical assistance support. NAA, which has over 35,000 members nationwide, will serve as a key strategic dissemination and training partner and will work closely with EDC to advance the initiative’s objectives.

“OST programs provide pivotal support for families,” Goddard said. “These programs not only keep young people safe after school, they can play a vital role in proactively improving wellness–including promoting good nutrition and physical activity. We are excited to lead this important new initiative for the CDC.”

“We are grateful that the CDC recognizes the positive impact OST professionals and programs have on young people’s health and wellness and look forward to partnering with EDC to do this important work,” added Heidi Ham, NAA chief operating officer.

The CAHE-OST team will use multiple strategies to achieve the CDC’s goals for the initiative. A few key activities follow:

• Leading an annual Healthy Out-of-School Time Virtual Institute to provide comprehensive professional development to OST leaders nationwide
• Convening in-person trainings at the NAA Convention to increase adoption of the NAA’s Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (HEPA) 2.0 Standards in OST programs
• Facilitating communities of practices (CoP) for OST program leaders to support peer networking and foster the sharing of best practices, policies, and strategies
• Providing intensive technical assistance (TA) to CDC-funded agencies to support districts, schools, and OST programs with adopting evidence-based resources
• Advancing OST programs’ use of the CDC’s Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model to promote young people’s well-being
• Curating and disseminating evidence-based health and wellness resources and tools

Learn more about EDC’s Out-of-School Time and Elementary & Secondary Education work.

This project is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $358,235 with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS.