This month, with support from the U.S. Department Agriculture’s WIC Community Innovation and Outreach grant, the Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment (CPCM) at the University of South Dakota will host, Jennifer Weber, MPH, RD, a national expert on child health, nutrition and wellbeing.

Weber has extensive experience working in state and national leadership roles. Her previous roles include Children’s Executive Portfolio Lead at the American Heart Association (AHA), Pediatric Systems Lead at Nemours, one of the nation’s leading pediatric health systems, and at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics national policy office.

“As part of USD’s School of Health Sciences, CPCM takes a public health approach to preventing and responding to child maltreatment, recognizing that Social Determinants of Health significantly influence child well-being and healthy family functioning,” said Chrisse Young, CPCM’s Director. “We are excited to bring Ms. Weber to South Dakota and to learn alongside others about new research and innovative approaches to improving service delivery to families with young children.”

In South Dakota, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, provides healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding counseling, and referrals for 13,725 participants, including 1,647 pregnant and postpartum individuals, 3,020 infants up to 12 months, and 7,983 children up to age 5 every month, on average in 2023

Reaching more families with WIC will have positive impacts on the community. The WIC program aligns with several child abuse prevention strategies by providing support and education to parents, strengthening families, building social connections, screening for risk factors, and providing parenting support. WIC has been shown to provide wide-ranging benefits, including longer, safer pregnancies, with fewer premature births and infant deaths; improved dietary outcomes for infants and children; improved maternal health; and improved performance at school, among others. In addition to health benefits, WIC participants showed significant savings in health care costs when compared to non-participants.

Ms. Weber will be speaking at various events throughout the state, and at the annual Community Response to Child Abuse Conference:

• September 30 from 1pm to 3pm at USD Sioux Falls’ Avera Hall, presentation is open to the public.
• October 1 from 12pm to 1pm at Kneip Building in Pierre, roundtable is by invitation.
• October 2 from 5pm to 6:30pm at Sanford USD Campus in Sioux Falls, lecture for students and residents.
• October 3 from 2:30pm to 3:30pm at USD’s Center for Health Education in Vermillion, lecture for undergrad and graduate students.
• October 4 from 9:30am to 10:45am at Sioux Falls Convention Center for Community Response to Child Abuse Conference registrants.

Details of Weber’s speaking appearances can be found at SDCPCM.com/Calendar.