Policy and Legislation
News
CLOCC Releases Compendium of Obesity Prevention Strategies
At the February 26, 2010 obesity hearing in Chicago, Representative Elizabeth Coulson and Director Damon Arnold asked CLOCC to provide examples of effective obesity prevention strategies being implemented in other states or localities. This led to the creation of a report for the Chicago Hearing Officers entitled, A Compendium of Evidence-Based Obesity Prevention Strategies from Around the Country. It includes categorized strategies by the major behaviors desired for obesity prevention (healthy eating, physical activity) and by the environmental settings in which obesity prevention should occur (community, child-serving institutions, health care institutions). The compendium concludes with a primary public health function: surveillance. We thank the Chicago Department of Public Health for their input into this report and hope that it will provide useful information to the State of Illinois as it continues the process of developing an obesity prevention plan.
CLOCC Releases Policy Agenda on September 15, 2010
On September 15, 2010 at the CLOCC Quarterly Meeting, CLOCC staff officially unveiled the CLOCC Policy Agenda. The CLOCC Policy Agenda was created after a year-long participatory process with CLOCC partners, External Advisory Board and Executive Committee members, and CLOCC staff. In the attached document, you will find brief descriptions of the CLOCC Policy Priorities and a table displaying the continuum of actions CLOCC will be taking on the priorities. We look forward to working with our partners to advance the CLOCC Policy Agenda. If you have questions about the CLOCC Policy Agenda, or if your organization is interested in working on any of the priorities in the Agenda, please contact Alexis Macias, CLOCC Advocacy Program Manager, at amacias@luriechildrens.org or 312-227-7044.
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Policy and Advocacy Work
CLOCC has played a role in the drafting and passage of several policy initiatives, both at the state and local levels.
- State Policy Initiatives
- Chicago City Ordinances
- Other Policy and Legislative Information
- Protocol for Requests for CLOCC's Support of Policies
State Policy Initiatives
Consensus Agenda
In the 2004-2005 legislative session, CLOCC led the development of the Illinois Childhood Obesity Prevention Consensus Agenda.
- Consensus Agenda summary
- Organizations that participated in the development of the Consensus Agenda
- House Bill 211- Food Systems Policy Council
- Senate Bill 88 – Physical Education Waiver Reform
- House Bill 210 – Early Childhood Standards
- House Bill 744 – Safe Routes to Schools and Parks
Statewide Body Mass Index (BMI) Surveillance
In 2004, the CLOCC Data Surveillance Working Group led the drafting of an amendment to the School Code of Illinois (Senate Bill 2940). This led to the passage of a public act that will create a pediatric health surveillance system for Illinois.Child Health Examination Surveillance System (CHESS) Summit
On May 1 and 2, 2008, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and CLOCC
co-hosted the Illinois Child Health Examination Surveillance System (CHESS) Summit. The Summit resulted in recommendations that were presented to
the Illinois Department of Public Health for consideration as they promulgate rules for Public Act 093-0966. The summit also identified potential advocacy allies for the advancement of a statewide child health surveillance system.You can access the report based on the CHESS Summit here. We welcome opportunities to engage with organizations interested in the establishment
of an Illinois Child Health Examination Surveillance System (I-CHESS). If
your organization is interested in partnering to advocate for this system, or
if you have questions regarding the summit, contact Alexis Macias, Advocacy Program Manager, at amacias@luriechildrens.org or 312-227-7044.
Chicago City Ordinances
Banning of Restrictive Covenants
In 2005, Chicago became one of the first U.S. cities to ban the use of restrictive covenants by grocers and drug store owners. These covenants prevented new grocery and drug store businesses from using property that other grocers and drug stores vacated. CLOCC supported this effort.
Other Policy and Legislation Information
Other government agencies are involved in policies and legislation that focus on childhood obesity prevention.
Wellness Policies
In 2004, the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act was reauthorized and required school districts to develop wellness policies. The links below summarize the information that is available on these policies:
- Action for Healthy Kids Wellness Policy Tool
- Healthy Schools Campaign Model Wellness Policy
- Illinois Nutrition Education and Training (IL NET) Wellness Policy Resources Page
- National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA) Model Wellness Policy
- School Nutrition Association Wellness Policy
- USDA Team Nutrition Local Wellness Policy
Leadership Action Strategies (by Active Living Research)
This booklet lists more than 25 strategies and tactics local and state governments can use to support active living.
Protocol for Requests for CLOCC’s Support of Policies
To submit a request for CLOCC’s support of a policy, please send, at a minimum, an abstract of the policy, and answers to the following questions:
- How does this policy relate to CLOCC’s 5-4-3-2-1 Go! message and facilitating
the behaviors recommended in the message? - How does this policy lend itself to discussion of the social ecological model
related to childhood obesity prevention? - Is this policy evidence-based? If so, please describe the evidence that such a
policy will have intended results. - Can this policy be directly linked to the health and well-being of children?
- Please describe the role that stakeholders (i.e. parents, youth, etc.) have played
or will play in creating the policy. - What is the plan for supporting implementation of the policy once it has been
enacted? - What are the potential unintended consequences of the policy?
- Why is CLOCC support important to the advocacy efforts for this policy?
- What are the advantages for CLOCC if it supports this policy?
Please send all policy support requests to Alexis Macias, Advocacy Program Manager, at amacias@luriechildrens.org. All policy support requests will be sent to CLOCC’s Executive Committee
for review. Thus, please be aware that an immediate response to your request will not be possible.
However, all efforts will be made to respond in a timely manner. During the review process, CLOCC requests that you do not indicate or imply that CLOCC has in any way endorsed or supported the policy initiative you have submitted for review.
In addition to organizations submitting legislation for CLOCC’s review, please note that CLOCC also intends on being proactive on policy matters. When there is a piece of legislation that has been introduced at any level of government that seems clearly related to CLOCC’s mission, the Advocacy Program Manager will conduct a preliminary review of the legislation and, when appropriate, submit it to the Executive Committee for review and possible endorsement.
Questions regarding CLOCC’s policy and advocacy work, including the CLOCC Policy Review Protocol, may be directed to Alexis Macias, Advocacy Program Manager, at amacias@luriechildrens.org or 312-227-7044.
