Thursday, March 13, 2025
3/13/2025
Jemez Coordinated School Health Initiative Abstract The Jemez Department of Education developed the Coordinated School Health Initiative to provide comprehensive health and social services to the school-aged population who attend the local schools in the Jemez Pueblo area. Historically, the Jemez Department of Education has built strong partnerships with the Jemez Health & Human Services to provide some health services to the students of the Walatowa Language Immersion Program, San Diego Riverside Charter School, Walatowa Charter Highschool, and the Jemez Day School. There has yet to be a formalized framework to determine the impact of coordinated health services. The Jemez Coordinated School Health Initiative is a promising framework designed to formalize existing and new partnerships, provide wrap around comprehensive services, and build a sustainable system of care for the children of Jemez Pueblo promoting overall development of children, thereby creasing academic success. In New Mexico, there are several indicators showing the AIAN population is in peril, more so than other races in New Mexico (NM). In general, the AIAN has 32.5% of children aged 0-17 years that live in poverty. The high school graduation rate for AIAN is 69% compared to 75% of NM high school students overall. The health status of AIAN in the NM is generally poor. In NM, only 59.9% of AIAN have access to a primary health care provider. The AIAI adolescent obesity prevalence is 22.8%, and AIAN adult obesity prevalence is 42.5%, higher than any other races in NM. The teen birth rate is also slightly higher for AIAN teens at 28.3 births per 1,000 girls, compared to 23.8 (in NM) and 16.5 (in the US). A significant disparity which affects the AIAN community is alcoholism. In NM, Alcohol-related Chronic Disease deaths are significantly higher at 121.9 per 100,000 population, age-adjusted, compared to 37.3 for NM. The health disparities that plague the AIAN communities directly impact the health and well-being of AIAN children. Nevertheless, there are several protective factors such as culture, language, a sense of belonging, and family that help impact AIAN youth resilience. These factors enable students and youth to develop a strong sense of identity and the foundational fortitude to grow, learn and thrive. The Jemez Coordinated School Health Initiative is a pro-active solution to address the health disparities that continuously impact AIAN communities. This framework is designed after the CDC Coordinated School Health Model, including community strengths and values unique to AIAN students in Jemez Pueblo. The ten components of the Jemez Coordinated School Health Initiative are health education, physical education, health services, nutrition services, counseling/ psychological services, healthy school environment, health promotion for staff, family/community involvement, governmental involvement, and technology/media. Each of these components is incorporated into a socioecological model that will inform the research and evaluation of the framework. The Jemez Coordinated School Health Initiative will take a mixed-methods evaluative approach to evaluate all the components of the Jemez School Health Initiative Framework. An external evaluator will conduct an impact evaluation to determine lessons learned, positive and negative changes, and outcomes.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).