Annual Report Fiscal Year 2021:

This section provides a summary of FFY21 activities, accomplishments, and challenges related to NPMs and SPMs (2021-2025) for the Child Health Domain.

Developmental surveillance, screening, and observations are important in all aspects of a child’s growth and development. The AAP Bright Futures, 4th Ed. Guidelines provide guidance and tools for the recommended screenings for children at each age in their periodicity schedule. The screening tools also provide opportunities for parents and providers to engage in conversation about their home and community environments, ultimately providing a holistic well visit that targets the overall health and well-being of the child and their parents or guardian.

Strategy 1

Collaborate with Wyoming Medicaid and other partners to expand the education of providers and parents on the AAP Bright Futures, 4th Ed. Guidelines. This will primarily be completed through Child Health Program (CHP) leadership in the Wyoming Bright Futures Implementation Taskforce (BFITF) and involvement in connected workgroups. These collective efforts will support improvements in both access to, and quality of, EPSDT in Wyoming.

In FFY21, the Wyoming BFITF met once, in late fall 2020. Unfortunately, due to lack of WY MCH staff capacity and ongoing pandemic response efforts, the BFITF did not meet again. The CHP continued to build relationships with the BFITF members with the goal of continuing the work outside of the taskforce. In summer 2021, the CHP met with former BFITF members from the University of Wyoming WIND to discuss a potential Bright Futures Project ECHO learning community. This ECHO will focus on best practices for implementing and disseminating the Bright Futures, 4th Ed. Guidelines in various medical practices around the state. This work is set to begin in FFY22.

In FFY21, the CHP Manager and WIHP Manager partnered to draft a RFP to implement focus groups on four key MCH topic areas, including consumer and provider knowledge and understanding of well visit recommendations and Bright Futures, 4th. Edition Guidelines. In summer 2021, the OMNI Institute was selected to lead this focus group project and began work in late fall 2021. Results of these focus groups will inform FFY22 and FFY23 promotion of child well visit strategies.

In FFY21, WY MCH continued to focus on the importance of developmental surveillance, screening, and observations through participation as steering committee members for the Wyoming Preschool Development capacity-building grant. WY MCH staff provided subject matter expertise and connection to knowledge leaders. In addition, WY MCH staff participated in weekly needs assessment and strategic planning meetings representing WY MCH. This opportunity was leveraged to promote AAP Bright Futures recommendations and guidelines as a standard of care for Wyoming families, as well as other related Title V priorities.

WY MCH also maintained active representation on the Governor's Early Childhood State Advisory Council, providing guidance and recommendations to members of the Wyoming early childhood system. This membership provided opportunities to expand partner knowledge of Title V priorities and alignment with other efforts within the early childhood system.

In addition, the CHP Manager remained an active member of the Governor’s Early Intervention Council (EIC). The EIC’s mission is to advise and assist coordinated community-based programs and services for families and their children ages birth through five who are identified as having developmental delays and/or disabilities.

Of the May 2022 public input survey respondents who indicated that they have a child age 2-11 in their household, 80.0% indicated that they believe the Child Health Program’s focus on outreach and implementation of Bright Futures with healthcare providers and the public, supporting more childcare centers to use the Healthy Policies Toolkit, and increasing statewide childhood blood testing for lead levels and working with providers to help families prevent childhood lead poisoning fits well or very well with the needs of their family or community.

Strategy 2

Provide technical assistance and networking to expand child physical activity and nutrition education in early care and education settings.

WY MCH continued to connect with state-level partners to support the increase in childhood physical activity through the following activities:

WY MCH continued to promote and actively support the Healthy Policies Toolkit, and provided TA and training to the University of Wyoming, Cent$ible Nutrition Program. The Cent$ible Nutrition Program maintains Certified Nutrition Educators (CNEs) in all 23 Wyoming counties and the Wind River Indian Reservation. The CNEs have identified childcare facilities serving low-income populations for site-specific TA and training, reaching eight licensed child care providers that serve a total of 184 children. All CNEs utilize the policy toolkit as a standardized framework to support settings in increasing physical activity and reducing obesity.

The CHP Manager also actively participated in a state-level nutrition collaborative, the Wyoming State Nutrition Action Coalition. This group consists of representatives from the University of Wyoming, Wyoming Hunger Initiative, WDH, DWS, WDE, DFS, and Wyoming chapter of the AAP, as well as other applicable invitees, depending upon the meeting topic. The CHP Manager applies a Title V lens to the collective areas of work on hunger, obesity, food sustainability, access, and the promotion of physical activity within the state collaborative.

Strategy 3

Continue participation in a multidisciplinary workgroup focused on improving lead screening rates and on expanding state-level infrastructure to support lead surveillance and prevention efforts.

In 2014, the WDH lost funding for a dedicated Environmental Health/Lead Prevention Program. In April 2021, WDH-PHD submitted an application for the CDC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention and Surveillance of Blood Lead Levels in Children grant, and in fall 2021, received the award. Within the grant application, WDH was authorized to budget for an at-will employee position that will focus on statewide lead surveillance and prevention efforts. In addition, the grant application includes a role for WY MCH staff to support provider education and improve linkages of lead-exposed children to recommended services. WY MCH staff coordinated the effort to draft and submit the CDC application. Current work activities detailed in the grant are ongoing.

Other Programmatic Activities

My 307 Wellness Phone Application

WY MCH staff supported the application developers by serving as subject matter experts, and also provided content reviews for their respective population domains. In addition, WY MCH staff served in several leadership and administrative roles in support of expanding public use of this free health resource, which provides valuable health information to adolescents, parents, caregivers, and the general public. The My 307 Wellness application also connects Wyoming residents to health resources within the state.

Annual Report Fiscal Year 2021 Supplement:

This section provides an interim update for FFY22 activities currently in process for the CHP.

Lead Screening

After receiving the CDC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention and Surveillance of Blood Lead Levels in Children grant, grant activities began. Stakeholders who interact with populations and infrastructure that have been exposed to lead were identified, and in February 2022, the first Lead Advisory Council (LAC) was held. More LAC meetings are expected to be held in 2022, with hopes of an in-person meeting held in September 2022. In April 2022, the Lead Prevention and Surveillance Program Manager/Epidemiologist was hired and will lead grant activities.

Bright Futures ECHO Learning Community

Currently, in FFY22, the CHP has contracted with WIND to launch the AAP Bright Futures ECHO Learning Community for providers in Wyoming. This contract was implemented in April 2022 and is expected to be completed by December 2022. As of May 2022, stakeholders, including state and national experts, Wyoming family stakeholders, pediatricians, family practice providers, and more, are being recruited to participate in a monthly stakeholder group that will work to inform more specific topics in the curriculum for the ECHO.