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Policy
Resource Guide
The
Policy Resource Guide contains links to the Policies in Action referenced
in the PAY
Initiative, as well as other
useful policies dealing with physical activity and youth.
The
policy examples listed here are only a sampling of the extensive work and
creative approaches currently operating at the grassroots level.
Our intent is to continue to add to this section as we are alerted
to new policy options and examples.
To submit an example
of Policy in Action, email info@ncppa.org.
Table of
Contents
I.
After-school Programs
The time period intervening between the finish of the
school day and the family’s evening meal, typically 3 to 6 pm, provides
a prime opportunity for children to engage in enjoyable, unstructured or
structured physical activity. However,
this is also a time during which many children engage primarily in
sedentary pursuits such as TV watching, video games, and talking on the
telephone. Insuring that each
child receives at least thirty minutes of moderate to vigorous physical
activity during the after-school time period would result in a marked
increase in the percentage of young people who meet public health physical
activity guidelines.
U.S.
Department of Education: 21st
Century Community Learning Centers
Alabama:
Outdoor Program Funding
New Mexico:
Use of Tobacco Settlement Funds
Quality
Sports Experience-Recommendations for Communities
Lighted Schools Program:
Collaborating to Access Funds
NASPE
Guidelines for Afterschool Physical Activity and Intramural Sports
Programs
II. Community Programs
Community-based youth sport and
physically active recreation programs provide children and youth with
significant amounts of moderate to vigorous physical activity during
after-school, weekend, and summer periods.
However, barriers such as lack of transportation and cost prevent
many children from participating in these programs.
Guaranteeing that every child has access to existing
community-based physical activity programs during after-school, weekend,
and summer periods will insure that all children can enjoyably engage in
regular physical activity.
The Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program, a program operated
by the federal government, began in 1978 but unfortunately has received
zero funding in both FY04 and FY 05 with no change expected in FY06.
III.
Community Design
The physical environment strongly affects whether individuals
can choose to be active. Sidewalks,
bike paths, community recreation facilities, and safe pedestrian crossings
are instrumental in encouraging physical activity.
A community infrastructure that supports physical activity includes
connected, accessible, well-lit, and safe sidewalks, bicycle lanes,
crosswalks, and trails linked to destinations of interest to facilitate
walking and bicycling; sports and recreation facilities that are close to
the homes of most residents, well-maintained, and safe; and programs in
place to motivate community members to walk and bicycle.
National Recreation and Park Association Playground Safety Institute
Program
Consumer
Product Safety Commission: Public
Playground Safety
IV.
School Programs
Physical
education is at the core of a comprehensive approach to promoting physical
activity through schools.
Physical education helps students develop the knowledge, skills,
behaviors, attitudes, and confidence needed to be active for life while
providing an opportunity for students to be active during the school day.
Qualified and appropriately trained physical education teachers are
the most essential ingredients of a quality physical education program.
V.
Other Policy Initiatives
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