Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle for Foster Care Youth: A Grant Proposal

1. Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle for Foster Care Youth: A Grant Proposal Kim Bigelman California State University Long Beach May, 2013

2. INTRODUCTION • One of the most devastating health challenges that the 21st century is facing is childhood and adolescent obesity. • According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2010), in 2010 the estimated number of overweight children under the age of five was over 42 million worldwide. • Approximately 12.5 million adolescents and children ranging in age from 2-19 years old are considered obese (CDC, 2012a). • The obesity rate among adolescents’ ages 13-19 years has tripled in the last 30 years (Ogden, Carroll, Curtin, McDowell, Tabak, & Flegal, 2006). • Being obese increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, premature death, diabetes, some forms of cancers, and psychosocial disabilities (Agarwal, Slining, & Yaemsiri, 2010).

3. SOCIAL WORK RELEVANCE • For an individual to have the ability to cope with the physical and psychological stress of being obese, he/she will need mental and emotional support, and will also need to develop a sense of confidence that they can overcome this disease physically. Social workers who research different and alternative options that obese clients have to help themselves will enable their clients to reach out to these resources for mental and emotional relief. Social workers need to have an understanding of how an obese person feels, as well as how he or she became obese in the first place. Social workers in the child welfare system have the connections through the Independent Living Program in their communities to help reduce the risk of foster care youth and former foster care youth from becoming obese by teaching the importance of healthy eating and exercising regularly.

4. CROSS-CULTURAL RELEVANCE • Obesity is a universal problem and does not discriminate against races, ethnicities, or cultures. • “53% of non-Hispanic Black women and 51% of Mexican-American women ages 40-59 were obese compared to 39% of White women” (Carroll, Flegal, McDowell, & Ogden, 2007, p2) • non-Hispanic Black men overall had a higher percentage of being obese than Mexican-American men or White men (Carroll, et al., 2007). • Hispanic boys aged 2-19 years old are more likely to be obese than non-Hispanic White boys (CDC, 2012a). • Mendocino County includes an ethnically diverse population made up of Caucasians, Hispanics, African Americans, and Native Americans.

5. METHODS • Target Population The target population this grant intends to serve is current foster care youth/non minor dependents ages 15-21 and former foster youth between the ages of 18-24. • Strategies Used to Identify and Select Funding Source Conducted Internet searches via local, state, and federal websites. California State University Long Beach Library database. Keywords used: obesity and foster youth, foster care youth and independent living skills, and obesity and health consequences.

6. METHODS CONT’D • Needs Assessment Information Sources There are a multitude of sources of information that can provide information for the needs assessment for this grant. The Department of Children and Family Services, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute of Health, medical journals, California State University, Long Beach Library databases, The World Health Organization, and other government websites will be utilized. • Budget Guidelines The estimated budget for this project includes the cost of honorariums for guest speakers, who would be utilized to enhance the learning experiences of the youth on topics such as nutrition, diet, and exercise. The budget also includes funds for expenses such as training materials, supplies, and the rental cost of the room.

7. GRANT PROPOSAL • The purpose of this project is to write a grant to acquire funding which would support a 12 week program to enhance health awareness and promote living a healthier lifestyle for foster care youth or recently aged out foster youth in Mendocino County. • The objective of this program is to incorporate an understanding of the health risks of being obese by having youth learn how to read food labels, make healthy food choices while grocery shopping, create meal plans that would include the daily recommended allowances for vitamins and minerals, write out grocery lists, and develop exercise routines, all of which will promote a healthy way of living. • The program will be designed to encourage adolescents to enjoy an active, healthy lifestyle. • The program will focus on educating the youth about the benefits of eating healthy and increasing their physical activity. • The classes will include information on how obesity affects a person mentally, emotionally, and physically.

8. SOCIAL WORK IMPLICATIONS • Foster youth and former foster youth deal with challenging situations that they are not always prepared to handle. Social workers provide services to these youth regardless of their gender, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, and physical, mental and mental health needs. Social workers need to have the ability to identify the special needs that these youth present. Overweight and obese youth deal with an array of issues including ridicule, peer alienation, and low self-esteem in addition to putting themselves at a greater risk for developing serious health problems as adults. Grant writing is one way for social workers to advocate for these youth so that special programs may be implemented to meet their needs. • Social workers’ roles include providing services to clients in addition to helping promote positive change in the community. As the economy continues to decline, the services and resources that social workers have available to them to assist their clients also decline. Hence there is a great need for social workers to have the skills to acquire funds through grant writing that would enable them to develop and implement innovative programs that could create positive change.

9. REFERENCES • Agarwal, S.K., Slining, M.M., & Yaemsiri, S. (2010). Perceived weight status, overweight diagnosis, and weight control among U.S. adults: The NHANES 2003-2008 Study. International Journal of Obesity, 35, 1-8. Doi: 10.1038/ijo. 2010.229 • Carroll, M.D., Flegal, K.M., McDowell, M.A., & Ogden, C.L. (2007). Obesity among adults in the United States-no statistically significant change since 2003-2004. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics, 1. • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012a). Obesity rates among all children in the United States http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html • Ogden, C., Carroll, M., Curtin, L., McDowell, M., Tabak, C., & Flegal, K. (2006). Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, 1999-2004. Journal of the American Medical Association, 295, 1549-1555. • World Health Organization. (2012). Childhood Overweight and Obesity on the rise. http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/childhood/en/