New Hampshire CATCH Kids Club Project

The CATCH Kids Club Project began in spring 2009. The first year of this project was designed to understand the feasibility of a statewide effort to bring CATCH Kids Club to after school sites in NH while taking further steps to ensure the programs effectiveness and sustainability.

In the fall of 2010, the FHC changed the focus of the project to promote environmental and policy approaches for healthy eating and physical activity. With it's strong focus on promoting healthful environments, CATCH Kids Club has now become the primary tool in this project to help sites carry out a health-focused environmental change effort in the out of school setting.

See the results of our statewide survey: 2011 CATCH Kids Club Statewide Survey - Final Report

• CKC Statewide Survey FINAL Report 2011
• Appendix A- All site survey

Partners: Foundation for Healthy Communities, NH Parks and Recreation Association; Plus Time; and the Greater Manchester YMCA

Funder: Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation

Goals of project: The goals of this project focus not only on physical activity behaviors of children, but also on the culture of the program in terms of staff perceptions and skills:

• Increase the amount of time children in targeted after school programs spend in moderate to vigorous physical activity to at least 20 minutes/day.
• Increase staff confidence/self efficacy in leading physical activity programs for children.
• Increase staff skills in leading group activities (classroom management, activity transitions, safety, etc.).
• Increase staff knowledge and perceived importance of physical activity and nutrition to overall health.

Project activities:

• Develop a network of CKC trainers to meet training needs across NH.
• Provide technical assistance to new CATCH Kids Club sites.
• Offer at least 3 program leader trainings per year.
• Establish a CKC network to share information, stories, challenges and successes.

Previous Projects of CATCH Kids Club in NH

2004: Foundation for Healthy Communities introduced CKC to after school programs in Keene and Laconia NH. Evaluation of the project showed increases in physical activity levels.

2007-2009: Foundation for Healthy Communities receives funding from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation and introduces CKC at 18 new sites in Derry, Londonderry, the Mt. Washington Valley Region, and Ossipee as part of a childhood obesity prevention project. Results from our evaluation demonstrate increases in physical activity and healthy eating at most sites. However, observations reflect that routine staff training is a vital component of achieving proper implementation and program effectiveness.