Hi All
I was asked to clarify the role of the COmmunity Demnostration Projects (CDPs) on the Campaign. About 18 months ago the Office of Womens Health, DHHS, put out a bid for contracts for regional maternal child health/breastfeeding groups to work on the National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign (NBAC). Those sites interested had to send in what amounted to a grant proposal, tho because it was the Govt. contract it was considered a "bid", explaining how they would meet the needs of a regional resource site for the Campaign, coordinating the efforts at the local level.
The CDPs' reponsiblities include 1. help the DHHS get the Ad Campaign materials into the local media, because none of these Ads, which are actually Public Service Announcements (PSAs) would get into the media as paid ads; 2. create a local telephone number staffed by IBCLC and peer counselors who could answer both calls from the region from breastfeeding women and from media in response to the campaign 3. offer trainings to local health care workers and 4. coordinate with other groups in the region interested in working on this.
The CDPs selected were from a wide range of areas - some are state public health offices, others are regional breastfeeding coalitions, others are Nursing Mothers Councils, or university or hospital based as ours is. They are located in regions as far apart as Puerto Rica and Oregon, Alabama and Los Angeles. We participate in a monthly telephone call with the DHHS Office of Women's Health in which campaign status and regional activities are discussed. For me the most exciting part of this has been to work with a group of enthusiastic, front line breastfeeding advocates who are all hard at work all over the US in the breastfeeding field.
All CDPs also attended a training with the Ad COuncil. THe Ad COuncil has also offered many trainings, both by phone and at regional sites, to non CDP groups who are interested in helping, though there is no money to fund groups who do not have a CDP contract.
The original contracts were for 18 months and they have just been renewed for 10 more months. The money is not very much, it just about covers the time and expenses incurred by each site.
One effect of the delay has been that even though others have offered to help out in our region, and our job is to encourage this, there is not a great deal to DO because until the moms start calling, we cannot offer work to other volunteers. For reasons which are now very obvious, the development of the ads was kept very quiet, so there was not much CDPs could do to involve others during the original development phase either.
Our most recent information is that the Campaign will go ahead, but in a changed form. The US Breastfeeding Committee has also worked directly with the OWH/DHHS on this obviously. They will meet with the DHHS group late Jan, and at that point, more information on the Campaign status should be available.
Hope this clarifies everything
Anne Merewood
Boston MEdical CEnter (and Boston area CDP for the NBAC)

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