Welcome to Healthy Kids, Healthy Future Technical Assistance Program (HKHF TAP)
We partner with state organizations and ECE programs to promote healthy eating and physical activity ECE settings and systems
In 2024, Nemours Children’s re-launched the Healthy Kids, Healthy Future Technical Assistance Program (HKHF TAP) through a subcontract with the Association of Public Health Nutritionists (ASPHN) funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). HKHF TAP provides technical assistance (TA), tools/resources, and financial support to embed healthy eating and physical activity best practices into state ECE systems and settings. Among these best practices are ensuring toddlers and preschoolers receive fruits or vegetables at every meal and that babies have short periods of ‘tummy time’ every day.
Guided by the CDC’s Spectrum of Opportunities framework, Nemours Children’s collaborates with departments of health, child care resource and referral agencies, and other early childhood organizations to accelerate change in broader state systems, such as TA networks, professional development, licensing, Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS).
HKHF TAP also includes the Physical Activity Learning Session (PALS) Project. PALS trains ECE coaches and health staff that work directly with ECE programs (Head Start, Early HeadStart, child care, family child care, prekindergarten). PALS builds state capacity to promote physical activity for infants and young children in ECE centers and family child care homes.
In 2019, HKHF TAP began offering time limited, targeted training and TA services, called Springboard Opportunities, to advance state action plans for healthy eating and physical activity in ECE. Since then, we’ve provided resources to 38 states and the District of Columbia. Learn more about this year’s Springboard Opportunities here.