Winter 2020

Your quarterly maternal and child health newsletter, provided by the Snohomish Health District's Maternal Child Health team. Stay up to date on local programs, topics, and resources for families and the professionals who serve them.

In this issue...

COVID-19 Update and Resources
Sky Valley Community Resource Centers
Maternal Gender Equity & COVID-19
Practicing Self-Compassion When We Need it Most
Collaboratives & Coalitions
Snohomish Health District Program Updates

News Corner

COVID-19 Update & Resources

As COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise in our county and our nation, Washington State has imposed a new set of guidelines and restrictions for all counties. These restrictions are to be in place at least through January 4, 2021.

Between November 22^nd and December 5^th Snohomish county saw 426 per 100,000 new COVID-19 cases, trending significantly upward from the previous two-week period. The county is also seeing increasing trends in hospitalization rates.

As we continue to weather the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic, each of us may be experiencing a range of shifting emotions including fear, weariness, and exhaustion. With several months behind us and a holiday season that is looking different from most, it can be tempting to throw our hands up in defeat. As a community we recognize that we are stronger together and when we each do our part, we create a safer and happier place to live, work, and play. So, keep taking care, supporting your loved ones, and wearing your mask! We can do this!

COVID-19 Resources for families and children:

See the CDC’s tips for coping with pandemic stress
See Healthy Children’s tips supporting the mental health of your child or teen through the pandemic
See Snohomish Health District’s guidelines for preventing the spread of COVID-19
See the WA State Department of Health information regarding vaccine updates
If you are experiencing stress from COVID-19 call Washington Listens to speak with a support specialist at 1-833-681-0211.

Featured Resource for Families

Sky Valley Community Resource Centers

Volunteers of America Western Washington’s (VOAWW) Community Resource Centers (CRCs) in Sultan and Arlington are designed to provide a one-stop-shop of services for families and individuals facing crises and those needing help accessing basic needs. CRC staff provide connections to local resources, emergency assistance through food, clothing and housing stability, and deliver programs aimed at increasing stability and self-sufficiency.

The Sky Valley Integrated Service Center in Sultan (SVISC), is the only collaborative hub for families and individuals in rural Snohomish County east of Monroe. The center serves isolated people from infants to seniors, and the disabled. By providing emergency services on-site, outreach and activities that serve young children to seniors, the center decreases isolation and increases access to mainstream and community based services. Find out more about the Sky Valley campus by visiting the webpage: www.voaww.org/skyvalley.

The Arlington Community Resource Center (ACRC) provides a comfortable environment for those experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless with emergency services. The ACRC assists with a multitude of services from helping those needing shelter, to families struggling to pay rent and utilities, to emergency food, assistance with employment and benefit applications, and more. See a full list of how ACRC staff can help by visiting the webpage: www.voaww.org/acrc.

Both centers are open Mondays through Thursdays from 9am-4pm and on Fridays by appointment only. VOAWW has grown to respond to surging needs during the pandemic, and is on track to feed over 64,000 households in 2020 and provide over 4,000 households with over $15.2M in rental assistance. Our CRCs provide the friendly faces, helping hands, and warm coffee for anyone in need of help.

If you or someone you know needs food, shelter, or support, visit our Community Resource Centers in Arlington or Sultan, call 211, or find out more at www.voaww.org.

Lynsey Gagnon
Executive Director, Community Resource Centers

Maternal & Child Health Notes

Maternal Gender Equity & COVID-19

The passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 made pay discrimination by gender illegal, yet decades later the gender pay gap remains wide. Data from the 2018 Census Bureau revealed that women in the United States made on average 82 cents for every $1 made by men¹. The pay disparities are even more pronounced for most women of color when broken down by race¹. For instance, Hispanic women in 2018 earned just 52 cents for every $1 earned by men¹.

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, unemployment rises, and Americans across the nation grapple with tough decisions regarding how best to care for their families. As a result, women face potentially devastating setbacks in employment and pay. Setbacks which may have effects on gender parity for years to come.

Data has shown that the majority of jobs lost during the pandemic belonged to women⁴. In the month of September alone, a staggering 865,000 women exited U.S. employment at a rate four times greater than men². This is likely due to the strain placed on families related to the increased burden of remote learning and child care. The ever-evolving state of pandemic guidelines and restrictions as well as the precarious state of individuals’ health decreases the reliability of traditional community supports like child care, schools, employers, extended family, and neighbors. This has forced those families with two working caregivers to make difficult decisions about exiting the workforce to handle added domestic responsibilities. Because of the gender pay gap, women are often the ones to step out of the workforce over their partners because of the economic benefit of retaining the larger paycheck. Thus, in keeping with historical trends in which household responsibilities disproportionately fall on women, it is women who appear to be most impacted by the increased pandemic burden on families.

As we continue to persist through this pandemic, the future of the already tenuous progress of women in the workforce hangs in the balance. This is in part due to the fact that the longer a woman remains out of the workplace the greater the negative impact on her potential future earnings. For instance, research shows that a woman who experiences just a one-year lapse in employment will incur a 39% decrease in yearly wages upon re-entry into the workforce².

While COVID-19 has ravaged the globe with its far-reaching consequences, its impact on maternal gender equity must be acknowledged if we are to continue working for progress and parity. As we consider the road to recovery, we must advocate for those factors such as subsidized child care, paid family leave, flexible work hours, and unionization that have the potential to keep women in the workforce and propel them forward.

References:
1. Bleiweis, R. (2020, March 24). Quick Facts About the Gender Wage Gap. Retrieved December 14, 2020, from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2020/03/24/482141/quick-facts-gender-wage-gap/
2. Gogoi, P. (2020, October 28). Stuck-At-Home Moms: The Pandemic's Devastating Toll On Women. Retrieved December 21, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/2020/10/28/928253674/stuck-at-home-moms-the-pandemics-devastating-toll-on-women
3. Grose, J. (2020, October 14). Mothers Are the ‘Shock Absorbers’ of Our Society. The New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/parenting/working-moms-job-loss-coronavirus.html?auth=login-email&login=email
4. Miller, C. C. (2017, May 13). The Gender Pay Gap Is Largely Because of Motherhood. The New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/13/upshot/the-gender-pay-gap-is-largely-because-of-motherhood.html
5. Taub, A. (2020, September 26). Pandemic Will ‘Take Our Women 10 Years Back’ in the Workplace. The New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/world/covid-women-childcare-equality.html?auth=login-email&login=email

Featured Resource

Self-Compassion When We Need it Most

The year 2020 has certainly taken a toll on each of us. If you are feeling worn out, frustrated, upset, lonely, angry or weary, you are not alone. As individuals, families, and communities, we have faced challenges in all aspects of our lives and we continue to persevere.

The changes, losses, and disappointments may leave you in moments questioning: “am I doing enough? Why does life feel so hard? Am I going to be okay? Is my family going to be okay? Why me?” In moments of struggle, we must learn to pause and acknowledge the seismic struggle we are facing. It is important to remind ourselves that we are having very normal responses to very abnormal experiences. Having grace for ourselves in the form of self-compassion is crucial to protecting our mental health during these times.

Practicing self-compassion amidst the challenges and struggles we are facing will only increase our capacity for resilience in getting through them.

Dr. Kristin Neff, self-compassion researcher, describes the three elements of self-compassion as:

Mindfulness: providing oneself space to observe and acknowledge thoughts and emotions in a non-judgmental manner without pushing them away or exaggerating them. Dr. Neff explains that “we cannot ignore our pain and feel compassion for it at the same time.”
Common humanity: acknowledging that you are not alone in your adversity and suffering as a human being.
Self-kindness: setting aside the self-criticism we often pick up in the midst of struggle and instead directing gentle kindness towards ourselves.

Next time you are feeling something particularly negative. Consider stopping and using the following questions and affirmations to cultivate more compassion towards yourself:

Mindfulness: How am I feeling right now? What name might I give to this specific emotion? Where do I feel it in my body? When have I felt this way before? I can take three deep breaths.
Common humanity: Have I felt this way before? I am human and this is a human struggle. I am not alone in feeling this way. Who might I be able to call or talk to that would understand what I am feeling even if they don’t understand what I am going through?
Self-kindness: It is okay to feel _______ . I am human. Even when I am feeling _______, I am always worthy of love and belonging. I am not defined by my feelings in this moment.

For more practice with self-compassion, see Dr. Neff's guided meditations and exercises.

Groups at Work

Coalitions, Collaborations, & Councils

CityMatch/NEAR Collaborative

In October, the CityMatch/NEAR collaborative hosted Mayleen Velasquez, LICSW, of Hummingbird Counseling at the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) Quarterly event. Mayleen provided a rich discussion about cultural humility in the context of ACEs. View her full webinar here.

Snohomish County Early Learning Coalition

The Snohomish County Early Learning Coalition is a collaborative group of community members who work together toward the common goal of making excellence in early learning achievable and sustainable for every child in Snohomish County. We are currently working on providing upcoming professional development opportunities, the rollout of the Help Me Grow early linkage system for families with young children, and other projects.

For more information, contact Kendall Appell at Kendall.appell@childstrive.org.

Program Updates

Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) & Lead Exposure

Snohomish Health District continues to be committed to working with families who have children with Elevated Blood Lead (EBL) Levels. Lead exposure to children can result from multiple sources and can cause irreversible and life-long health effects. Lead is a neurotoxin and no safe blood lead level in children has been identified and even low levels of lead have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention, behavior, and academic achievement. Our goal is to increase the numbers of children who are screened for EBL, to work with the child’s primary care provider to get blood lead level testing done, to help the family identify the source of lead exposure, and to offer resources to the family. Health Education is offered to every family, written and verbal, on lead risk and prevention. We also offer to do a developmental screening in order to identify children at risk and offer Early Intervention services as needed.

For more information on lead risk and prevention please visit the SHD lead webpage.

Child Care Health Outreach Program

Child care remains a critical place for children to thrive, grow and develop. Offering safe and quality child care and early learning environments in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic is vital to our community. With the support of a grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Washington Chapter, AAP, the Child Care Health Outreach Program is currently offering a free COVID-19 class for child care providers in Washington State. Click here for more information. Program staff have been working diligently to provide child care-specific COVID-19 guidance for providers in addition to support with the many health and safety challenges that arise in child care facilities across Snohomish County.

Last month, the Child Care Health Outreach Program facilitated a countywide partnership meeting for nurses providing consultation in child care facilities. A variety of topics were discussed including PPE and L & I considerations for child care providers as well as dental hygiene for young children. For more information on this program, click here or email childcarehealth@snohd.org.

Here's an informational flier on the class

Thank you for reading! We plan to publish the next newsletter in March of 2021

The Dyad+ (plus) highlights the health of the mother-child dyad plus their family and support system. The health and well-being of the mother-child dyad is dependent on each other, and the importance of the pregnancy and postpartum period cannot be overstated. The health status of the dyad during this unique time has a persistent and long lasting effect on an individual's lifelong health, and therefore has a big impact on the overall health of a population. The primary caregiver, who may or may not be the biological mother, fills an essential role in the child's life that can help or hinder the child's potential, especially for children under age 5. Maternal and child health is essential public health.

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