Preschools Shaping Healthy Impressions through Nutrition and Exercise (SHINE)

SHINE focuses on ECE programs in California. Family child care homes and child care centers that participate in the CACFP and have at least 50 percent of children aged two to five years enrolled in their program may apply for Preschools SHINE certification. Since 2012, the SHINE program elements have been implemented in 152   child care agencies, reaching  282   preschool classrooms and nearly  6,000  children. Setting:  Pre-K & Childcare, Gardens (School/Community) Age: Preschool Race: All Ethnicity: All

The Preschools SHINE program consists of 10 elements that foster healthy habits during the early years of growth and development:   Participation in the CACFP Promoting Quality Meals   Mealtime Environment   Nutrition Education   Edible Gardening   Physical Activity Professional Development   Wellness Policies   Partnerships   Leadership Team   The program is structured so all ECE sites can achieve a beginning certification level ( B ronze), and then over time, make additional improvements to the site's wellness environment to reach higher certification levels ( S ilver and  G old). Information on the criteria ECE sites must meet within each element and the levels of SHINE certification is accessible on the CDSS Preschools SHINE  w eb  page at https://www.cdss.ca.gov/cacfp/preschools-shine-program .

The Resources tab of the  CDSS Preschools SHINE web page at https://www.cdss.ca.gov/cacfp/preschools-shine-program  includes links to free resources within the  web page guidance  developed for each element. These free resources support ECE staff to implement the criteria within each of the SHINE elements. The CDSS Preschools SHINE web page also includes a Training s  tab with free and low-cost professional development opportunities.

Prior to the transition of the CACFP to the CDSS, the CA Department of Education (CDE) collaborated with the Sacramento County Office of Education to conduct evaluations for the SHINE program every year from 2013‒2017. The data confirmed that the Preschools SHINE program provided effective education and coaching support to child care providers and staff to promote high quality child nutrition and wellness environments. The data from the 2016‒17 evaluation (n=25) shows: One-hundred percent of respondents indicated that Preschools SHINE had an impact on the practices at the child care site. Of those, 86% of respondents indicated that the Preschools SHINE program had a moderate to strong impact and the remaining 14% indicated that the SHINE program had some impact. One-hundred percent of respondents indicated that Preschools SHINE had an impact on the environment at the child care site. Of those, 64% of respondents indicated that the Preschools SHINE program had a moderate to strong impact and the remaining 36% indicated that the SHINE program had some impact. Statistically significant growth was reported by respondents' self-ratings of their knowledge and implementation in nearly each of the Preschools SHINE elements after participating in the program. The one exception was wellness policy development. 100% of respondents either agreed (22%) or strongly agreed (78%) that they can maintain the Preschools SHINE criteria at the child care site. Evidence Base: Practice-Tested

Based on the SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework, the following outcome indicators can be used to evaluate intervention progress and success.   Readiness and Capacity - Short Term (ST) Changes - Medium Term (MT) Effectiveness and Maintenance - Long Term (LT) Population Results (R) Individual         Environmental Settings   MT3 , MT5 , MT6 LT5 , LT6 , LT7 Sectors of Influence       MT3/MT6/LT6: SHINE sites reported that the coaching they received resulted in an 85% moderate to great difference in implementing Element 6, Physical Activity. MT5/LT5: SHINE sites reported that the coaching they received resulted in a 70% moderate to great difference in implementing Element 2, Meal Quality; a 67% moderate to great difference in implementing Element 3, Mealtime Environment; a 95% moderate to great difference in implementing Element 4, Nutrition Education; and a 60% moderate to great difference in implementing Element 5, Edible Gardening. LT7: 81 preschool programs have received Preschools SHINE recognition since 2013

Evaluation materials include the evaluation tools used each year and the evaluation reports. Please contact the CDSS Preschools SHINE team at PreschoolsSHINE@dss.ca.gov to request the materials.

The  CDSS Preschools SHINE  w eb  page   at https://www.cdss.ca.gov/cacfp/preschools-shine-program  includes  the background for the development of Preschools SHINE; eligibility, award levels, and application information; in-person and online trainings; resources, including information for each element, a self-assessment, action plan, and  a  link to the SHINE application; and a list of certified SHINE sites.     Contact Person(s): Madison Fellenz, MPH Nutrition Education Consultant (916) 651-7329 Madison.Fellenz@dss.ca.gov     *Updated as of August 20, 2023