Sunday, December 8, 2024
12/8/2024
Obesity, a lack of regular physical activity, poor nutrition, chronic conditions and poor mental health are serious health concerns in Alaska. About 1 out of 3 children in Alaska is overweight or obese as are about 2 out of 3 Alaska adults. Only 1 in 5 Alaska high school students get the recommended sixty minutes of physical activity every day and only in 1 in ten eat the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. One in ten Alaska children has a chronic health condition and far too many have poor mental health with one in four high school students seriously considering suicide. Health promoting strategies aimed at school-aged children within public schools can reduce the risk of developing obesity and other chronic diseases and improve overall health and academic success. These include improving nutrition, increasing physical activity, increasing school-based health services, management of chronic health conditions, and improving mental health. The purpose of the Alaska Healthy Schools Project is to protect and improve the health, academic achievement, and emotional well-being of school-age children and adolescents through improvements in nutrition, physical activity, the management of chronic conditions, and trauma engaged practices addressing the mental health and emotional needs of students in Alaska with focus on addressing health inequities in underserved and disproportionately affected communities in Alaska. The State of Alaska will provide state level professional development and technical assistance and establish a new state level coalition to support school health policies, practices, programs, and services to improve the health and education outcomes of students. In order to address health inequities, additional support and financial assistance will be provided to one priority Local Education Agency (LEA) and corresponding schools in communities that experience poverty, are medically underserved, and are disproportionately affected by chronic diseases and attributable risk factors. The priority LEA will develop and implement evidence-based action plans focused on sustainable policy, systems or environmental changes that are culturally relevant and meaningful to the community. The project will serve all 53 LEAs in Alaska for state level support and professional development and will partner with one Priority LEA partner. The project will focus on schools from communities that experience poverty, are medically underserved, and are disproportionately affected by chronic diseases and attributable risk factors over the 5-year project period. The School Health Index will be used as a basis for developing action plans in the LEA and corresponding schools. A Healthy Schools Training, Technical Assistance and Facilitation contractor will be secured through competitive procurement to support the facilitation of the WSCC coalition, update of the Alaska School Health and Safety Framework, and provide or secure expert Technical Assistance to LEAs on topics in the NOFO. The Alaska Healthy Schools Project is a collaborative between the Department of Health and Department of Education & Early Development. The project builds upon the collective work that the Departments share with an established School Health and Safety Framework (plan), the Alaska School Health Collaborative (interagency workgroup), conducting the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and School Health Profiles Surveys and years of providing professional development to on school health professionals throughout the state. A signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is included in the application. The two Departments have had similar MOA’s in place, for the CDC RFA DP 13-1305 which was awarded to DOH and for CDC RFA DP 18-1801 which was awarded to DEED. This opportunity builds on many of the activities undertaken in the previous grants. Our Departments have established a good working relationship in this area and are committed to continued collaboration.
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).
