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Community Engagement

Addressing the two key strategic imperatives of Education and Prevention, the Community Engagement team provides interactive health education activities throughout Arkansas with developed programs, presentations and targeted partnerships – all designed to help children and families make wise and informed healthy choices now and throughout their lives.

Car Seat Check-ups appointments are scheduled at Arkansas Children's Hospital campus in Little Rock Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., based on the availability of trained staff. A Child Passenger Safety Technician evaluates the car seat currently in use, checks that it is appropriate based on the child's age and weight, ensures correct installation, and answers questions.

For more information, contact Charles Maxwell at MaxwellCT@archildrens.org or 501-364-5655 for additional information.

Arkansas Law and AAP Recommendations

  • Children are required to ride in an appropriate child safety restraint until they are at least 6 years of age or 60 lbs.
  • All children under 15 years of age must be buckled no matter where they are in the vehicle.
  • The Primary Seat Belt Law requires drivers and front-seat passengers to be buckled up at all times.
  • Act 811 states that it is illegal to smoke in the car with a child who is less than 14 years old.
  • The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children stay rear-facing in their car seats until the age of 2 or until a child reaches the upper weight limits of his car seat. Children should then stay forward-facing until they reach their seat's upper weight and height limits for that position.

Basic Guidelines for Child Safety Seat Usage

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants remain rear-facing until the upper weight limit of a convertible seat (usually 30-35 pounds) as long as they are within the height requirements of the seat. At a minimum, Infants should remain rear-facing in the back seat until at least 1 yr. old AND at least 20 lbs.

  • Children may ride forward-facing once they are over 20 lbs. and 1 year of age in a seat with an internal 5-point harness. They should ride in a seat with an internal harness until they reach the weight limit of the harness (usually 40-65 pounds) as long as they are still within the height limit of the seat.
  • Once the child weighs at least 40 lbs., the child should ride in a booster seat in the back seat until they are at least 4'9" tall. Booster seats MUST be used with a lap and shoulder belt. NEVER a lap-only belt.
  • Before being allowed to use only the vehicle lap & shoulder seat belt, the child should be able to sit up with knees bent at the edge of the vehicle seat, the seat belt shoulder strap should fit comfortably across the chest (not across the neck), and the seat belt lap strap should fit low and tight across the upper thighs.

Babysitting 101 provides young adolescents with the skills to be safe, nurturing and fun babysitters. Targeting both girls and boys ages 12 to 14, this class will help participants become more confident, responsible and prepared caregivers. Babysitting 101 is taught by instructors from Arkansas Children's using the Safe Sitter curriculum and is a great introduction to the basics of babysitting. Choking Rescue, CPR and other important safety topics are addressed, but this one-day class does not include certification in these areas.

"My favorite thing about the class was how active it was. I felt like I was doing stuff the entire time, and it was really helpful information that I had fun learning about." - Babysitting 101 participant

Classes during Summer 2021 will take place virtually. Each virtual class will meet on three consecutive days for a 2-hour long session. There is a $25 fee for class materials.

Registration is now open for the following class offerings: 

  • Babysitting 101: June 8th, 9th, and 10th from 9 to 11 a.m. each day.
  • Babysitting 101: June 15th, 16th, and 17th from 9 to 11 a.m. each day
  • Babysitting 101: June 22nd, 23rd, and 24th from 9 to 11 a.m. each day.
For more information, or to register for a class, contact Sarah Harlan at harlanse@archildrens.org or 501-364-6442.

Cooking Matters Grocery Store Tour

Receive a guided, small-group tour of the grocery store while learning how to read labels, choose wisely, eat healthily and shop on a budget. The store tour is about 90-minutes in length and includes a lot of Q & A.

"This tour was very informative. The tips for buying produce and what's in season gave me great ideas for meals!" - Cooking Matters participant

Cooking Matters Six-Session Course

Learn basic kitchen skills and cooking techniques, practice budgeting for meals, and receive tasty and healthy recipes. Class size is generally 8 to 10 people which is ideal for vibrant discussion and active learning. Activities are hands-on with everyone helping prepare (and eat!) the meal.

"This course made me want to eat healthy." – Cooking class participant

Pop Up Cooking Matters Presentation

This nutrition education program helps teens learn how to pick out healthy foods on a budget. With a one-time classroom visit from an ACH health educator, 9th - 12th-grade students receive a virtual tour of the grocery store with food examples reviewed from various aisles (fruits and vegetables, meat and dairy, bread and grains). Topics include how to shop for healthy items, how to read food labels, and how to budget for meals. There is also discussion on making healthier choices in regard to sugar, sodium, fat, and calories.

“I learned to look at food labels to see the ingredients, so that I know what is healthiest for me.” – Pop-Up Cooking Matters participant 

  • Pop-Up Cooking Matters aligns with many of the Arkansas Department of Education standards for Health and Wellness instruction. Ideal for Health classes or Family and Consumer Science classes.
  • For more information, contact Charles Maxwell at MaxwellCT@archildrens.org or 501-364-5655.

Love Notes is an innovative and comprehensive healthy relationship program targeting 9th-12th grade students.  Participants discover how to make wise choices about relationships, sex, partners, pregnancy and more.  The evidence-based curriculum, consisting of 13-lessons, builds skills and knowledge for healthy and successful relationships by focusing on key topics such as:

  • Knowing yourself
  • Assessing relationships and making decisions
  • Effective communication and conflict management skills
  • Intimacy, sexual values, pacing relationships, sex, consent
  • Unplanned pregnancy and relationship turbulence

Lessons incorporate journal entries, hands-on activities, videos, music and more to reinforce lesson objectives. Researchers found that teaching Love Notes to teens resulted in a 46% reduction in the teen pregnancy rates compared to the control group.

“I enjoyed learning about how to keep a relationship healthy and how to communicate with my partner.” – Love Notes participant  

Love Notes aligns with many Arkansas Department of Education standards which involve relationship education and is ideal for Health, Family and Consumer Science, and Dynamics of Human Relationships classes.

Love Notes empowers students to achieve healthy relationships at home and work through both knowledge and practical skills.

For more information, contact Sarah Harlan at harlanse@archildrens.org or 501-364-6442.

Tobacco Prevention Program

The Project Prevent Youth Coalition is the statewide youth tobacco prevention program, encompassing middle school, junior high and high school students. Its membership includes students in local chapters across the state. Project Prevent offers several projects and activities to engage students throughout the year, including a statewide youth conference. The activities address one of three focus areas: Prevention, Education, and Leadership. While most of the chapters involved with Project Prevent focus primarily on tobacco and nicotine, several chapters address other health issues as well. There is no cost to form a Project Prevent chapter, and some may receive resources, teaching aids and even funding to further their efforts in tobacco prevention.

For more information, contact Laura Taylor at TaylorLB@archildrens.org or 501-364-3883.

In addition to providing important health education across the state, the Community Engagement Department also leads hospital efforts in local community activities.  These include: 

  • Leading an annual Earth Day Recycling event.
  • Coordinating an annual Food Drive.
  • Participating in local Neighborhood Association meetings and activities.
  • Connecting employees to community volunteer opportunities.
  • Coordinating on-going food insecurity work at ACH with the nearby Helping Hand food pantry and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance.
  • Serving as a partner in education with a school in each community where Arkansas Children’s has a hospital or clinic.
  • Overseeing a Community Garden on campus at ACH.  

Partners In Education

We are proud to be a Partner in Education with King Elementary School, located just two blocks from Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock and The Academies at Jonesboro High School, located not far from the ACH Clinic in Jonesboro.  We look forward to soon welcoming partner schools in Springdale (near Arkansas Children's Northwest) and Pine Bluff. Employees participate in a variety of activities each year such as judging science fairs and art contests, providing classroom education either virtually or in-person and offering healthcare career information for students.

"This is awesome! Many thanks for continuing the project! We are so fortunate to have you all as a partner!" - Education partner 

Community Garden

The community garden on the campus of ACH was established in 2015 and is tended by a part-time garden manager along with a small but growing band of community volunteers.  Each year, more than 4,000 lbs. of fresh produce was grown and harvested including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, greens, potatoes, corn, peas, onions, carrots, beans, okra, watermelon, strawberries and blackberries. Everything grown is donated directly to Helping Hand pantry which is located nearby.

"I wanted you to know how very excellent the ACH garden is.  I have seen the garden expand and flourish under Ben's care and see room for future growth as well.  The garden is a healing place and has many lessons, as well as beauty." - Garden volunteer