Health and Wellness Recognition Programs

Recognition programs identify and acknowledge programs, communities, or organizations that encourage exemplary activities that often go above and beyond policies and regulations. State child care agencies, public health agencies, and/or child care resource and referral agencies (CCR&Rs) can create child-care specific recognition programs to highlight providers that meet specific best practice criteria. Healthy and active living and breastfeeding-friendly practices recognition programs encourage child care programs to implement policies and practices to build healthy habits in children at an early age. Encouraging breastfeeding, serving nutritious food with family-style meals, and ensuring that children get 60 minutes total of active play each day, helps give children the access and the opportunity to be healthy at a young age. It also sets them up to live long, healthy lives.

There are 11 states with a healthy eating or physical activity (HEPA) recognition program, 29 states with a breastfeeding recognition program, and 22 states with HEPA initiatives, which don’t recognize individual providers, but put a heavy importance on healthy eating and physical activity throughout the state.

Explore different programs in different states with this map from Child Care Aware of America and find links to breastfeeding recognition programs, HEPA recognition programs, and HEPA initiatives across the country.