Child Health Coverage Toolkit Available: This toolkit, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, offers links to resources that will help you inform your Board and the public on how children in the U.S. get health coverage, and the importance of employer-sponsored coverage and public programs to children. Prepared by the Alliance for Health Reform, the toolkit provides key facts on insurance coverage, including an overview of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Selected websites on health coverage and a glossary of terms are included.
The Uninsured: A Primer: From the Kaiser Family Foundation, this excellent resource presents basic information about the uninsured-who they are and why they do not have health coverage. It also explores the difference that health insurance makes in people's lives, provides a summary of how and why the number of uninsured is growing, and discusses currently proposed solutions.
Most Low-Income Parents Are Employed: Fact Sheet: From the National Center for Children in Poverty, this fact sheet shows the latest data on low-income parents and their employment status. Despite declining average household income, 56 percent of low-income children had at least one parent working full-time and year-round. The data show that this population is more likely to be employed in the service industry and is less likely to receive benefits such as health insurance or paid vacation. (November 2007, 3 pp.)
Improving the Refundable Child Tax Credit: An Important Step Toward Reducing Child Poverty: This policy brief is from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and reviews steps to improve the Child Tax Credit to affect more families. The Child Tax Credit is a $1000 credit per child for low-income families, and around 16 million children in low-income families could partially receive the credit with eligibility changes. Under the current structure, full-time minimum wage working parents would not qualify for the benefit when the minimum wage increases in 2009. (November 2007, 7 pp.)
New Resources at The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancies - Teen pregnancy and unplanned pregnancy among young adults is at the root of a number of important public health and social challenges - research indicates one-third of open child protection cases are with children born to teenagers. You will find a good summary of the issue beginning on page 11 of the executive summary of Emerging Answers 2007.
New Local Guide on Transitioning Foster Youth: A task force of local elected officials representing counties, cities and school boards in California have just issued a report and community action guide entitled "Our Children: Emancipating Foster Youth." It was published by the Cities Counties and Schools Partnership which is a joint effort of the League of California Cities, California State Association of Counties (CSAC) and California School Boards Association (CSBA). The Partnership promotes the development of public policies that build and preserve communities by encouraging local collaborative efforts among California's 478 cities, 58 counties and more than 1,000 school boards and districts the partners represent. (November 2007, 22 pp.)
NACo Announces Availability of Rural Health Grants: Rural Health Works is community assessment process that assists counties in evaluating their healthcare system and to generate county-specific data.The ultimate goal of the project is to strengthen rural economies by increasing the use and expansion of health services. NACo will award a total of three grants on a competitive basis. The grant, valued at more than $18,000 for each county, includes intensive technical assistance on the Rural Health Works model. Selected counties will work with Rural Health Works consultants to:
- Identify their health care needs
- Examine the social, economic, and political realities affecting the local delivery of health care
- Determine how the health care system can best meet the community's needs
- Develop and mobilize an action plan based on their analysis and planning
Funds are being provided by the Office of Rural Health Policy within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. An application form is available at www.naco.org/ruralhealthworks. The application deadline is December 15, 2007. For more information, please contact Christina Rowland at crowland@naco.org or 202-942-4267.
