MSU Extension Child & Family Development

Go NAPSACC — short for Go Nutrition and Physical Activity Self Assessment for Child Care — is a trusted, no-cost tool available to Michigan child care providers. This online program guides you through policy, practice, and environment improvements that help promote healthier outcomes for the children you serve. If you are a child care provider looking to go the extra mile in supporting children’s wellbeing, try using Go NAPSACC as a starting point and guide. 

What You Will Find in This Guide: 

• Go NAPSACC benefits 
• Content areas 
• How to get started 
• Timeline of use 
• No- and low-cost changes 
• Licensing and accreditation standards 

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Testimonials from Go NAPSACC Users Who Partnered with MSU Extension Consultants 

• They [the children] are more open to trying new foods than they were in the beginning of the year. We have tasted foods such as black beans, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, red/yellow bell peppers, pineapple, brown rice, berries, and tuna. 
• I thought Go NAPSACC was crazy about family style working, but it did! I didn't really think I could do it but I can honestly say we are eating 90% of the time family style. 
• The children were excited to pour themselves drinks on the playground when they were thirsty. They practiced motor skills and taking turns while watering their brain. 

Benefits 

• Completely free for preschool, center, or home-based child care providers across Michigan 
• Easy-to-use online program assessments that help you ask the right questions on eight topic areas essential to young children’s health 
• Customized goal-setting and planning guides  
• Tailored tools and resources to help reach goals  
• One-on-one coaching from a trained consultant to help you navigate changes 
• MiRegistry-approved professional development 
• Alignment with educational and health quality standards  

Go NAPSACC Content Areas  

Go NAPSACC guides improvements in policy, practice, and environments through 8 modules. Together, these modules support whole-child health. Each module focuses on specific content areas, which are further associated with various best practices. Self-assessment, planning, training, and implementation tools for each module help programs assess and enhance nutritional quality of food served, amount and quality of physical activity, staff-child interactions, facility policies and practices, and more.  

Child Nutrition 

• Food Provided 
• Beverages Provided 
• Feeding Environment 
• Feeding Practices 
• Menus & Variety 
• Education & Professional Development 
• Policy 

Breastfeeding & Infant Feeding 

• Breastfeeding Environment 
• Breastfeeding Support Practices 
• Infant Foods 
• Infant Feeding Practices 
• Education & Professional Development 
• Policy 

Infant & Child Physical Activity  

• Time Provided 
• Indoor Play Equipment 
• Teacher Practices 
• Education & Professional Development 
• Policy 

Outdoor Play & Learning 

• Outdoor Playtime 
• Outdoor Play Environment 
• Education & Professional Development 
• Policy 

Screen Time 

• Availability 
• Teacher Practices 
• Education & Professional Development 
• Policy 

Oral Health 

• Tooth Brushing 
• Food & Beverages Provided 
• Daily Practices 
• Education & Professional Development 
• Policy 

Social Emotional 

• Relationship Building 
• Routines and Expectations 
• Staff Practices 
• Behavior Guidance 
• Play Environment 
• Family Partnership 
• Education & Professional Development 
• Policy 

How to Get Started with Go NAPSACC 

Getting started with Go NAPSACC is easy! It involves connecting with a consultant, who will then provide you with an account code, help you set up a program account, and guide you on learning how to use the Go NAPSACC suite of tools. To contact a Michigan Go NAPSACC consultant, choose from the following options. Which one you choose depends on your specific program type and needs. 

Great Start to Quality Resource Centers 

The ten Resource Centers, under MiLEAP, have trained Go NAPSACC consultants ready to assist Great Start preschools across the state of Michigan. They can help you set up an account and give more information on how to use Go NAPSACC to achieve GSQ Program Quality Indicators. 

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National Kidney Foundation of Michigan 

The National Kidney Foundation of Michigan provides technical assistance to child cares across Michigan to help them implement Go NAPSACC. No matter what type or size of child care you are, NKFM can help you get started and answer questions you might have along the way. 

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Unsure which option to choose? Fill out the MI Go NAPSACC Interest Form using the link below for assistance on finding the best fit for your program. 

MI Go NAPSACC Interest Form 

Timeline and Milestones 

Go NAPSACC is designed to guide you through a 5-step process within the course of a child care program cycle. The steps are:  

• Assessing your program’s strengths and opportunities for growth 
• Choosing 1-3 goals and planning for their achievement  
• Taking action  
• Learning more 
• Keeping up your great work  

Below is a sample timeline with monthly milestones. It provides 6 months for initial assessment, planning, and implementation, followed by reassessment and adjustments. 

Month 1: Orientation and Self-Assessment 

Connect with a consultant, create an account, choose the topic(s) or focus, and complete self-assessment. 

Month 2: Set Goals and Create Action Plan 

Based on current program strengths and weaknesses, choose 1-3 goals and create step-by-step achievement plans. 

Month 3: Start Action 

Meet with stakeholders, find and share resources from the Tips and Materials Library. 

Month 4: Continue Action 

Train teachers and staff, and plan changes to menus, equipment, and schedules. 

Month 5: Complete Action 

Put changes into action, promote changes to children/families, update policies, thank those who helped. 

Month 6: Retake Self-Assessment 

Return to the step described in month 2 based on the new self-assessment outcomes. 

No and Low-Cost Best Practices 

Making healthy changes does not have to be hard — or expensive. For every content area, Go NAPSACC makes recommendations for meeting best practices at no or low costs. Here are just a few ideas, and many more can be found in your Go NAPSACC account through the Tips and Materials section. 

• “Teachers offer planned education on food and where it comes from 1 time per week or more.” 
• “Enough refrigerator and/or freezer space is always available for all breastfeeding mothers to store expressed breast milk.” 
• “There is a written policy on infant feeding and nutrition that includes a variety of topics related to how, when, and what infants are fed, and how this information is communicated to teachers and families.” 
• “Screen time is rarely or never used as a reward.” 
• “Teachers use an authoritative feeding style during every meal and snack time.” 
• “A 4-6 oz. serving of 100% fruit juice is not given to children more than 2 times per week.” 
• “There is always at least one item of portable play equipment available for each child during outdoor active playtime.” 
• “Fried or pre-fried potatoes are never offered, or are offered less than 1 time per week.” 
• “Teachers never take away time for physical activity or remove preschool children or toddlers from physical activity playtime for longer than 5 minutes, as a way of managing challenging behavior.” 

For practical, actionable steps to reach these and other best practices, see MSU Extension’s Action Steps for Child Care Providers: Meeting Best Practices in Nutrition/Physical Activity/Social Emotional Health: [link] 

How does Go NAPSACC fit into child care licensing and accreditation programs? 

Go NAPACC aligns in both purpose and practice with many state and federal licensing and accreditation performance standards, including those used in Michigan’s Great Start to Quality (GSQ), federal Head Start programs, CACFP, and after-school programs. Using Go NAPSACC can help you achieve program quality indicators, promote the health of children in your care, and increase your quality performance rating scores.  

For example, see this excerpt from Using Go NAPSACC to Achieve Great Start to Quality Indicators (MiLEAP, 2023):  

• Great Start to Quality Program Quality Indictor: “FCP5. Program provides families a description about nutrition and healthy food choices.” 
• Suggested Go NAPSACC Use: Go NAPSACC’s Child Nutrition and Farm to ECE Modules include the following best practices:  
• Families are offered education on child nutrition 2 times per year or more.  
• There is a written policy on child nutrition that includes a variety of topics related to how, when and what children are fed, and how this information is communicated to teachers and families.  
• The program communicates about local foods included in meals or snacks through menus, farm information, recipes, sings, marketing materials, and/or other strategies.  
• The program connects families to local foods in a variety of ways, including offering information, tastings, and opportunities to get involved with gardening and food education activities.  
• Input from families is used in menu planning so that menus regularly include meals and/or snacks that reflect the cultural, ethnic, and/or religious food traditions of enrolled children.  
• There is a written policy on Farm to ECE that includes a variety of topics related to the local foods that the program serves and other efforts to educate children and families and connect them to local foods.  
• Go NAPSACC’s training library includes the following trainings, which child care…(the details continue in original document) 

For more examples on how to use Go NAPSACC to achieve licensing and accreditation performance standards, connect with a MI Go NAPSACC consultant.