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Action Items
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On behalf of CWA, thank you and your staff for your daily service to families in need. As 2016 comes to a close, we recognize you have endured some stressful years with lagging participation, and now the election has created even more and greater concerns.
Don't forget the community value generated with each person provided food, breastfeeding support, nutrition education, infant formula, referrals and a warm and understanding place to be helped and heard. You have much to be proud of. In 2017 CWA staff will be by your side ensuring that the lasting work of WIC staff is recognized as critical to America's future.
We hope that you and your staff take some time this holiday season to be with family and friends to relax, find some things to smile and laugh about, and have some fun. We will see you in January and appreciate the opportunity to work with you in the coming year.
With gratitude,
Karen, Margaret, Sarah, Meghan, Lena and Laurie
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WIC Program Education Needed!
It is vitally important that we reach out to all state and federal decision makers to provide WIC Program education. It is up to us to help these important individuals develop a strong understanding of vital WIC services and how you support families in need. We need WIC Ambassadors now, more than ever. CWA is working with state and local agency staff to provide more data for you to use in your program education, including: participant, redemption, CVV, military, and grocer data.
ACTION:
2.
By Jan. 31
: Complete the
template
in the Ambassador Toolkit. More data coming in mid-January for this important tool.
3.
In your next staff meeting
: Discuss plans to invite your federal and state members to your site and show off WIC!
Ask Sarah
for help and tips.
4. For more background, listen to a recording of the local agency Program Education and Policy call (Nov. 22) on your Members webpage.
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Regional Meetings 2017
We would like to attend to some meetings and the dates would help us plan. We will also post these on your
Members webpage.
ACTION: Please provide CWA with your Regional Meeting dates.
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CWA Office Move and Holiday Schedule
Dorothy, we're not in Davis anymore! CWA has successfully moved to 3120 Freeboard Dr. #101, West Sacramento, CA 95691. New phone: 916.572.0700 fax: 916.572.0760. We are near the capitol and paying less rent!
Our office will be closed from December 23 to January 3. We look forward to continuing our work together in the New Year!
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Seeking Phyllis Bramson Leadership Award Nominations
It is the time to nominate a colleague for the Phyllis Bramson Award, recognizing outstanding leadership on behalf of the WIC program. As California WIC Director, Phyllis protected the state program and advocated for local agencies. She understood the investment in nutrition and breastfeeding. In her memory we honor her by recognizing one of our colleagues, who steps up on behalf of WIC mothers and families, at the CWA Annual Conference. ACTION: Please complete the nomination form by February 22. Questions? Contact Karen.
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CNC Scholarship Update
We regret to share with you that for this year, there is no funding for the CA Nutrition Corps scholarships. General Mills, provided generous support for many years and has shifted their funding. CWA is actively seeking alternate funding and hope we can provide this opportunity again.
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Engaging Families - Impacting Caseload
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Webinars & New Resources
We completed a very successful Engaging Families
WIC Works Webinar series including Engaging Men and Dads, Welcoming African American Families, Nutrition Preventive Services, Engaging Millennials, and WIC Improvement Concepts. We also released two companion issue briefs,
MyWIC Millennials and
WIC Opportunities.
The goal of this work is to not only share ideas,
b
ut to push for commitment of all stakeholders to support WIC improvements. Thanks to Felicia Francisco and Yadira Dominguez, Riverside WIC, for participating on the recent WIC Improvement webinar. Hundreds of attendees tuned in the webinars from across the nation, representing public and private, local, state and federal organizations.
If you missed the webinars the slides, issue briefs and recordings are posted here. We can't provide CE units
after the
event, but we offered free CE
units to those who registered, attended and evaluated the webinar. Thanks for your patience as we process your certificates!
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WIC Can Help/Puede Ayudar
December's resources,
Energy, Telephone & Utilities, were right on target, given the low temperatures across California and the frigid weather gripping the country. The resulting additional costs to families can create a lot of stress. Please share these timely resources with families.
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State Legislation 2017
Understandably we are taking a cautious approach to our legislative advocacy this year. We will be meeting with state members and committees to ensure they are prepared to protect WIC. Any state bill with new costs will be a hard sell, given the state is in a protection mode regarding potential federal cuts to various programs and support. We are conferring with partners, including CA Primary Care Assn. and other groups who sponsor bills, to plan our support for upcoming legislation. We WILL continue to work, administratively, on electronic linkages between WIC and other programs.
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Conference Registration Open!
Engaging Families for Thriving Communities: Your 2017 25
th Annual CWA
Spring Conference
registration is OPEN! Thanks to the thoughtful work of the Conference Planning Committee, the
draft agenda is posted. We are pleased to offer challenging topics, national speakers, and local agencies. The Trade Show is shaping up for lots of energy.
ACTION:
Register for the conference by the early bird discount date of Feb. 17. Start planning for the CWA Silver Conference Attire Contest! Prepare for Local Agency Sharing and bring your agency's examples of Engaging Families Strategies. Get your team ready for the CWA Photo Scavenger Hunt; details coming.
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Social Media
Stay connected with us also through our very busy social media channels to see interesting articles, heart-warming pictures, policy updates, relevant infographics and CWA news.
ACTION:
Follow us on
Facebook
,
Twitter
, and
Instagram
!
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WIC Agency Roster
Please remember us when you have updated contact information. ACTION: Send local agency contact updates to Meghan.
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