Covering Kids and Families is the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's national initiative to connect eligible uninsured children and adults to publicly funded health coverage programs. The grant supports three key components:
- Conduct and coordinate outreach efforts to find, enroll and retain eligible children
- Simplify enrollment and renewal processes and procedures
- Coordinate existing programs
Families can be discouraged from applying for or renewing health coverage by geography, language barriers and immigration status, distrust of government programs, and a perceived stigma at accepting government benefits. Covering Kids and Families works to raise awareness of available health coverage for children, encourage and assist parents to apply, and minimize the barriers that can prevent families from applying.
Since 1999, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children has been the lead agency for Covering Kids and Families. PPC heads the Statewide Covering Kids and Families Coalition, comprising state officials, health care professionals, and community leaders who develop outreach strategies, apply lessons learned toward improving and simplifying the application process, and are exploring new methods to improve renewal rates and assure utilization of coverage.
Four Pennsylvania pilot sites test outreach efforts tailored to the unique needs of local families:
Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY), Southeastern Pennsylvania: PCCY concentrates on building partnerships that allow personnel in community organizations to inform their client families about their potential eligibility and help them apply. PPCY also focuses on assisting families whose primary language is not English and on extending enrollment assistance through Federally Qualified Health Centers in Philadelphia. Contact Alisa Simon, Child Health Watch Director, PCCY, 7 Ben Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-563-5848 x13, alisasimon@pccy.org.
Wellspan Health, York and Adams counties: Wellspan Health uses community health workers to provide enrollment assistance to families throughout York County. Its efforts to reach non-English–speaking families include work with churches, schools, and community centers to reach Latino families in York City and migrant workers in Adams County. Contact Courtney Paskell, Community Health Improvement, Wellspan Health, 1005 S. George Street, York, PA 17403, 717-851-3232, cpaskell@wellspan.org.
Consumer Health Coalition, Allegheny County: Consumer Health Coalition has worked with schools, using emergency information cards and school lunch applications to generate awareness and enrollment, and utilizes a 100% Pledge campaign to engage local community-based organizations in enrollment efforts. Contact Kate Robinson, CHC, 650 Smithfield Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, 412-456-1877, krobinson@consumerhealthcoalition.org.
Cornerstone Care, Fayette, Greene and Washington counties: Cornerstone Care’s community health workers find, enroll, and maintain rural families in health coverage. Through partnerships with schools and school programs, Cornerstone Care reaches out to families through sports, nurses, and other school-related programs. Cornerstone is also pilot testing a rapid enrollment project that waives families’ fees if they apply for coverage at Cornerstone’s health care site. Contact Cindy Holcomb, Cornerstone Care, 7 Glassworks Road, Greensboro, PA 15338, cholcomb@cornerstonecare.com.
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Covering Kids and Families products disseminate the lessons learned in effective outreach, so that programs and organizations can help families find and apply for children’s health coverage.
