Office of Child Care Services / Massachusetts Department of Education / HPRC Collaboration

In November of 2001, the Office of Child Care Services (OCCS) accepted
a recommendation from the MA Coalition on Obesity Prevention (MA COPE)
to add a licensing regulation to family childcare, center based care and
after-school programs. This regulation asks child care providers to schedule
a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity per day.

To assist providers with the regulations, the MA Department of Education, Nutrition Programs and Services and OCCS, formed a collaboration to
provide trainings to early childhood providers centered around physical activity, nutrition, physical development and television reduction.

The project, entitled, H.E.A.L.T.H.Y. Kids (Health Education Activities
and LifeTime Habits for Youth), has trained OCCS and MA DOE
trainers to provide the physical activity and nutrition trainings across
the state. The manual, printed by the MA DOE, will be distributed to
providers across Massachusetts.