• ​​​​​​​​​Systems of ​Care & Healthy Mental Development: Effective Strategies to Support CYSHCN in the Medical Home Webinar Series​
  The National Resource Center for Patient/Family-Centered Medical Home (NRC-PFCMH) is hosting a FREE 2-part webinar series examining the behavioral and mental health systems of care for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and the role of medical home within that system.​
• ​Episode 1 will feature the Nebraska Partne​rship for Mental Healthcare Access in Pediatrics and the University of Michigan Child Collaborative Consultation Program. Participants will learn how these 2 programs have addressed access to behavioral and mental health care for CYSHCN, in addition to the key partners and collaborators that support their respective programmatic efforts.
• ​Episode 2 will feature pediatricians Marian Earls, MD, MTS, FAAP and Richard Antonelli, MD, MS, FAAP. Drs Earls and Antonelli will discuss how pediatricians and the medical home can support behavioral and mental health care for CYSHCN.

• Developmental Screening Resources Available
  The AAP, with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), offers resources for developmental surveillance and screening. The resources can help with challenges that were identified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Find them here: 
  • PediaLink Course: Innovative Strategies for Improving Developmental Surveillance and Screening
  • Emerging Practices 
  • Practice Pearls
    

• Priorities for Pediatric Epilepsy Care: A Strategic Agenda
  The National Coordinating Center for Epilepsy is pleased to announce the publication of its Priorities for Pediatric Epilepsy Care: A Strategic Agenda. Based on the findings of the needs assessment as well as a strategic planning session with its CYE Advisory Committee, the Center has developed a strategic agenda to inform the work of pediatricians, pediatric subspecialists, allied health professionals, patient/family advocates, and researchers. The Center encourages all those working in the field of pediatric epilepsy to refer to this document when undertaking new initiatives to improve the care of this population.
•  Resource Navigator from Alliance for Disease Prevention and Response
  The Alliance for Disease Prevention and Response has launched the Public Health & Equity Resource Navigator, an online home for more than 1,000 resources, stories, tools, and datasets designed to help navigate resources focused on ending the pandemic, advancing equity, and building a resilient, robust, sustainable public health system for the future.​
• Family Friendly Referral Guide Now Available for Developmental Concerns
  The AAP offers a free Family Friendly Referral Guide focused on supporting families and caregivers whose child has a developmental concern. The guide can support clinicians in screening children when a concern from a caregiver or clinician might arise, including autism spectrum disorder.
• ​ Access Blueprint to Help Prevent Suicide Among Young People​ 
  Suicide is the seco​nd-leading cause of death among young people 10-24 years of age in the U.S., and rates have been rising for decades. The AAP and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, in collaboration with experts from the National Institute of Mental Health, have created a Blueprint for Youth Suicide Prevention as an educational resource to support pediatric health clinicians and other health professionals in identifying strategies and key partnerships to support youth at risk for suicide.​
  

• ​Hands & Voices Launch New Webpage Dedicated to Families
  Hands & Voices has recently dedicated a webpage on their website specifically for families new to the journey of raising a child who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing (D/HH). They also have created a QR code that their EHDI partners (EHDI programs, family-based organizations, pediatricians, and others) can share on their websites, social media pages, in office flyers or directly text to new families. 
• Hands & Voices Loss and Found Video​
  Watch the Hands & Voices Loss & Found video that pediatricians and other health professionals can use to encourage families to return for follow up if child is positive for atypical hearing thresholds. The video is available in four languages.​​​

• ​​​New Resource Helps Young Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD) and their Primary Care Team Prepare for an Emergency​
  The National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health, with support from the Working for Inclusive and Transformative ​Healthcare (WITH) Foundation, has developed the Emergency Preparedness Toolkit for Young Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and their Primary Care Team. The toolkit includes two tip sheets to assist primary care teams and their young adult patients with ID/DD to plan for disasters and emergencies. The full toolkit is available in both English and Spanish.
• The first tip sheet is for primary care teams to use in assisting young adults with ID/DD and their parents and/or support persons to develop a disaster emergency care plan.
• The second tip sheet is written for young adults with ID/DD and their parents and/or support persons. It contains questions for them to consider as they are creating their personalized disaster emergency care plan.

• ​​COVID-19 & CMC ECHO: Key Discussion Themes and Tips to Improve Care for CMC​
  The COVID-19 & Children with Medical Complexity (CMC) Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO), a partnership between the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Boston University CMC Collaborative Innovation and Improvement Network (CMC CoIIN), focused on increasing participant knowledge, capacity, comfort, and competence in caring for CMC during the COVID-19 pandemic. Key ECHO discussions focused on family/caregiver needs, mental health/well-being of families and health care professionals, and telehealth strategies. This tip sheet, a second in a series, outlines key discussions and opportunities for improvement in caring for CMC and their families. The first in the series focused on tips for designing an inclusive, interprofessional ECHO.
•  Adolescent Mental Health Concerns Tip Sheet​
  In partnership with the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP), the Bright Futures National Center collaborated on the Applying Principles of a Shared Plan of Care for Adolescents Living with Mental Health Concerns tip sheet which applies 10 Shared Plan of Care (SPoC) principles to the Bright Futures health supervision visits. These principles form bridges between pediatric primary care and behavioral health care with a focus on adolescent social/emotional well-being. Each SPoC principle features relevant considerations, resources, and tools.
• Bright Futures Mini Training Modules​
  The Bright Futures National Center introduces new, ready-to-use Bright Futures Mini Training Modules for pediatric residents, trainees, and any pediatric health care professional interested in a refresher. These modules are intended to meet the needs of busy pediatric residents and trainees to be used anywhere and anytime. This series of free, asynchronous modules review clinical topics utilizing Bright Futures Guidelines, 4th Edition content, Bright Futures Tool & Resource Kit, 2nd Edition forms and handouts, and additional resources. The modules include a PowerPoint presentation, script, and highlighted resources. Browse the series of Bright Futures Mini Training Modules (average time: 15-30 minutes per module) and check back for new topics! 
  Topics currently available are: 

• Promoting Developmentally Appropriate Toilet Training
• Promoting Oral Health
• Agenda Setting in the Clinic​

• ​​AMCHP 2022 Annual C​onference
  May 24-26, 2022
  The 2022 Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) Annual Conference is rescheduled to May 24-26 in an All-Virtual Format. The theme for the 2022 conference is Reflecting on our Past, Shaping our Future.
• 2022 ASDC Conference
  July 21-23, 2022 | Anaheim, CA
  The American Society for Deaf Children (ASDC) is putting on a family conference like no other! Instead of holding to the traditional format of 2 full days of speakers, ASDC is doing something different. Participants will get together for short presentations in the morning, and then the whole family will head off for a fun-filled “sight/sign-seeing" afternoon field trip designed for families with children of all ages and abilities. Families will also be accompanied by a Deaf ASL role model. Transportation is provided. A speaker track for Spanish-speaking families will be included - please reach out to Yiesell Rayon for more information.
• 2022 Conference on Adolescent Health
  August 11 – 12, 2022 | Hybrid Meeting, in-person portion will be held in Ypsilanti, Michigan
  Join a multi-disciplinary audience of over 450 health professionals from across the country for 2 days of dynamic breakout sessions, poster presentations, youth-led sessions, and networking events. Session topics include culturally competent sex education, responding to the mental health needs of youth during a continued pandemic, the impacts of racism on adolescent health, and more.
  
  This conference has content relevant for physicians, nurses, social workers, registered dietitians, health educators, public health professionals, and all others who work with adolescents in a health care capacity. With the conference's shift to a hybrid event, adjusted attendance fees to reflect the format change.
  
  Registration for the event will now open on May 16, 2022, and Early Bird rates will close on July 1, 2022. With any questions about the event, please contact adolescenthealth@umich.edu. 
• ​2022 AAP National Conference & Exhibition​
  October 7 – 11, 2022 | Anaheim, California
  The National Conference & Exhibition registration and hotel reservations opens May 3 for AAP members. Registration opens for everyone on May 10. The conference will offer more than 350 sessions in 75 topic areas, from hands-on clinical skills labs to inspiring plenary sessions. A limited virtual attendee experience also will be available. For more information, click here.​​​

• State Strategies to Increase COVID-19 Vaccination Rates in Children
  As of March 16, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that just one-third (33%) of children ages 5–11-year-olds have received their first vaccine dose, with vaccination rates varying widely by state. Just 26% percent of this age group have been fully vaccinated. The 10 states with the highest fully vaccinated rates among children ages 5-11 years (Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Connecticut, Virginia, Minnesota, and Illinois) have adopted creative approaches to promoting COVID-19 vaccination. The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) highlights several approaches states may consider adopting when encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19 and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
• NOFO Announcement: Community Health Worker Training Program (CHWTP)​
  The application deadline is June 14, 2022.
  The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released this new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to expand the public health workforce by training 13,000 community health workers (CHW), as well as building their knowledge and skills. The CHWTP is a new multiyear program focused on education and on-the-job training to build the pipeline of CHWs. This program will support experiential training and employment through registered apprenticeships and job placements. The CHWTP aims to increase access to care, improve public health emergency response, and address the public health needs of underserved communities. HRSA will award approximately $226.5 million to up to 75 grantees over a period of 3 years.
  
  Eligible Applicants Include:
  
  • Health professions schools, including an accredited school or program of public health, health administration, preventive medicine, or dental public health or a school providing health management programs.
  • Academic health centers.
  • State or local governments, including state, local and territorial public health departments; or
  • Any other appropriate public or private non-profit entity such as but not limited to: community colleges, community health centers, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and community-based organizations, and tribal entities that train public health workers.
  • In addition to the 50 states, eligible applicants include the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. Tribes and Tribal organizations may apply for these funds, if otherwise eligible. Foreign entities and individuals are not eligible for this HRSA award.
  Have questions?
  Join the technical assistance webinar to learn about this funding opportunity, including application requirements: Join here!
  Date: Wednesday, May 11, 2022
  Time: 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. ET
  

​The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) continues to provide necessary support to pediatric health care professionals, patients, and families during as the COVID-19 pandemic persists.

​COVID-19 resources and updated guidance for health care professionals:

• ​Interim Guidance on Supporting the Emotional and Behavioral Health Needs of Children, Adolescents, and Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
• Caring for Children and Youth With Special Health Care Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
• COVID-19 Testing Guidance ​

​COVID-19 resources for families on HealthyChildren.org:

• Helping Teens With Autism Transition to Adulthood (Spanish here)
• COVID-19: Caring for Children and Adolescents with Special Health Care Needs (Spanish here) 
• Ask the Pediatrician: Should my child still wear a mask? (Spanish here) 
• How to Talk with Your Child About the War in Ukraine (Spanish here)​

American Academy of Pediatrics Tracks Numbers of Children Vaccinated in Weekly Report
The AAP, drawing on data posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is tracking the progress in vaccinating U.S. children under age 18. The report will be updated every Friday. 

Protecting your Child with the COVID-19 Vaccine
The AAP has created a one-pager to promote safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine for eligible children and adolescents. It can also be accessed under “printables” on the COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign Toolkit.