KANA’s WIC Coordinator, Stephanie Jenkins, Attends the National WIC Association Leadership Conference
The Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) is a special supplemental nutrition program for low-income families. This program serves pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, post-partum mothers, infants, and children up to the age of five. This unique program provides nutrition education, breastfeeding education and support, referrals to other social services, and healthy supplemental foods. Over half of the babies born in the United States participate in the WIC Program!
This year’s National WIC Association Leadership Conference was held in Washington, D.C. in February. This annual conference stresses the specifics of the WIC Program at a national level, including funding, caseload, upcoming policy changes, etc. Stephanie Jenkins, the KANA WIC Coordinator and the AKWICA President, were chosen to attend.
While attending the conference, Stephanie had the opportunity to meet with Alaska’s United States Senator Lisa Murkowski and the staff members of Alaska’s United States Congressman Don Young and Senator Dan Sullivan. During their meetings, Stephanie was able to provide insight into the WIC services provided, individuals served, and various program outcomes.
For more information about WIC, please visit https://kodiakhealthcare.org/community-services/cs-families-children/wic/ or call 907-486-1372.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. In our Kodiak community, we all have a part in identifying and preventing harm to our children. Did you know that adverse childhood experiences play a direct role in what physical and mental health problems our children will or will not have later in life? Problems like cancer, diabetes and heart disease increase dramatically the more experiences children have witnessing domestic violence incidents, experiencing sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect and parental substance abuse.
In our efforts to provide awareness during the month of April, blue pinwheels will be planted in front of the Kodiak Police Department. Each pinwheel will represent a Kodiak child that has been involved in an investigation of child maltreatment at the Kodiak Child Advocacy Center.
If you have any questions about child sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect or drug endangerment, please call the Kodiak Area Native Association’s newly accredited Kodiak Child Advocacy Center at 486-1378.
Source: KANA [xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]
