Community Feeding Teams of WA

CHDD faculty provides ongoing training and technical assistance to feeding teams across the state of Washington to ensure they are able to meet the needs of their communities. Twenty-five community-based feeding teams have been established to meet the needs of children with special health care needs, including rural and underserved areas of the state. These teams serve their communities by assessing, prioritizing and addressing feeding and nutritional issues of children and infants. Feeding teams are composed of interdisciplinary health care professionals to ensure services are family centered, comprehensive and cost-effective. The team approach benefits families and caregivers by allowing all issues of nutrition and feeding to be addressed by one local, coordinated team, thus avoiding duplication of services. The teams are based in community facilities across the state such as health departments, developmental centers, school and educational service districts, and hospitals. Team members include registered dietitian nutritionists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, physical therapists, public health nurses, school nurses, physicians, social workers, feeding behavior therapists and others.

CHDD faculty conduct an annual one-day continuing education training that covers topics of interest identified by feeding team members. This annual training provides an opportunity for team members to share experiences and build networks. Technical assistance is also provided by CHDD faculty throughout the year to address current feeding team concerns and needs and, to provide guidance for new feeding team development. This project is part of a collaborative effort between the Children with Special Health Care Needs Program at the Washington State Department of Health and the UCEDD.