Agenda - 02-03-2004-9e - Laserfiche WebLink

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the breastfeeding capacity, the Back-up recruits, enrolls and provides basic nutrition education information from the EFNEP curriculum to limited resources families with young children. The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) targets families with young children and pregnant teens to insure that healthy meals are being prepared. EFNEP employees work with these families for a minimum of six (6) teaching visits in their homes or in a small group setting. Interagency cooperation is a vital part of the success of the program. Cooperative Extension provides supervision for the program and coordinates the coalition. UNC Hospitals works with the program assistants who visit the hospital to recruit new mothers for the breastfeeding program. Mary Rose Tully, Director of Lactation Services at UNC Hospitals, who helped develop the statewide IHBSP program, works with her staff to provide continuous training for program assistants. UNC Hospitals provide the lactation consultant who is readily accessible to the program assistants for complex breastfeeding situations, and can help new moms have quick access to the health care system when medical complications arise. (UNC Hospitals credit one of the program assistants with recognizing a problem with an infant, coordinating with the hospital to get immediate care, and therefore saving the life of the infant). The Orange County Health Department and Piedmont Health Services, through the WIC (Women, Infant and Children) program, provide referrals to the program, and help coordinate educational sessions. The Breastfeeding program services, as well as the EFNEP program, are unique and do not duplicate those provided by any other program. This program reaches under-served populations in their communities and in their homes. BOCC Took Action in December: When Cooperative Extension learned in early December that the four Nutrition Program Assistants positions responsible for program implementation would be terminated on December 31, 2003 due the withdrawal of Federal funding, a request was made and approved by the BOCC to provide $27,000 to extend the EFNEP personnel and activities for two months from January 1, 2004 through February 29, 2004. This time extension allowed County staff time to continue and evaluate program options and better identify funding alternatives for the BOCC to consider for the longer term. Because of the design of the program and the need to serve both English and Spanish-speaking clients, Cooperative Extension determined that all four (4) positions are critical (two of the program assistants are bilingual and over half of the clients served speak Spanish.) Since December, the Cooperative Extension staff has contacted Cooperative Extension's Family and Consumer Science Department at the State level to keep up-to-date on the negotiations concerning the resubmission of the grant proposal to the regional office of Food Stamp Nutrition (FSN) in Atlanta, GA for the Breastfeeding Support Program. The State has informed the County that the program is not dead, but there is no definitive decision at this time. Due to the complexity of the process, the State also cannot give the County a time frame for that final decision. Contact has been made with Piedmont Health Services to determine if State WIC funds could be used to support part of the program. Staff is still exploring that option. Cooperative Extension has also met with UNC Hospitals staff and they have pledged their continued support of staff that will provide professional lactation support services, as well as