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Child Health Information Project
Children's Defense Fund
October 2, 2000
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In this issue:

* PRESIDENT CLINTON ANNOUNCES GRANTS TO STATES AND RURAL COMMUNITIES TO IMPROVE CHIP AND MEDICAID PROGRAMS

* NEW REPORT URGES RE-EVALUATION OF STATE CHIP PROGRAMS

* NATIONAL STUDY ON SEX EDUCATION REVEALS GAPS BETWEEN WHAT PARENTS WANT AND WHAT SCHOOLS TEACH
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PRESIDENT CLINTON ANNOUNCES GRANTS TO STATES AND RURAL COMMUNITIES TO IMPROVE CHIP AND MEDICAID PROGRAMS

September 29 - President Clinton announced the latest estimates indicating that as of June 2000, approximately 2.5 million children were enrolled in the State children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

President Clinton also announced that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will invest $700,000 in grants to states and rural communities to enhance CHIP outreach and enrollment efforts.

HHS will invest $400,000 in five states implementing innovative strategies to enroll children in CHIP and Medicaid and help them stay enrolled.

*Florida will be piloting a new electronic application process targeting minority children served by day care centers;

*Massachusetts will attempt to increase CHIP and Medicaid retention rates by simplifying their renewal process, allowing primary care providers to renew a child's coverage whenever the family comes in for care;

*Ohio and Pennsylvania will eliminate burdensome income verification requirements for families applying for coverage; and

*Washington will increase their efforts to link children receiving school lunch subsidies with health care coverage.


The remaining $300,000 will be distributed to 20 rural communities to help enroll these children in CHIP and Medicaid. The funds will be used to provide door-to- door outreach for families in farming communities; outstation eligibility workers to guide families through the eligibility process; and provide application assistance to families in their native language.

Source: White House Press Release, September 29, 2000.
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NEW REPORT URGES RE-EVALUATION OF STATE CHIP PROGRAMS

September 20 - Although expansion of insurance coverage for children eligible for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is important, it is not a sufficient goal, says a new report by researchers at Johns Hopkins University.

The report, entitled "The Children's Health Insurance Program: Expanding Framework to Evaluate State Goals and Performance," urges states to draft higher standards for measuring improvement of the health of children enrolled in CHIP. States should not only monitor how many children are enrolled in CHIP, the report suggests, but also whether these children are receiving high quality health care services.

The authors of the report present a more specific, comprehensive framework for evaluating state CHIP programs. Policymakers, the report argues, need to assure high standards of health care services through "access to a regular, first-contact provider that is person-focused, not disease-oriented, establishes continuity in provider-patient relations and coordinates care provided elsewhere or by another provider." Further, the number of health professionals who "provide services to vulnerable populations" needs to increase, says the report.

The report is published in the September issue of The Milbank Quarterly.

Source:
1) Shi, Leiyu, et al., "The Children's Health Insurance Program: Expanding the Framework to Evaluate State Goals and Performance," The Milbank Quarterly, Vol. 78, No.3, September 2000.
2) "States need stronger goals for children's healthcare," Reuters Health, www.reutershealth.com, September 20, 2000.
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NATIONAL STUDY ON SEX EDUCATION REVEALS GAPS BETWEEN WHAT PARENTS WANT AND WHAT SCHOOLS TEACH

September 26 - A new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that many parents are supportive of existing sex education courses and would like the curriculum to cover more topics. The basics of reproduction, HIV/AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases, and abstinence are now standard in sex education. However, the parents surveyed reported that they would like schools to further address issues often labeled controversial, such as abortion and sexual orientation, as well as teach communication and coping skills.

The study, entitled "Sex Education in America: A View from Inside the Nation's Classrooms," is based on a series of national surveys of more than 4,000 public secondary school students and their parents, sex education teachers, and principals about their experiences with and attitudes toward sex education.

More than eight in ten parents said how to use condoms and other forms of birth control, as well as how to talk about them with partners, should be taught. Ninety- our percent of parents surveyed said they want schools to address "real-life" issues, such as pressure to have sex and the emotional consequences of becoming sexually active.

"What comes across in this study is that parents look to schools to prepare their children for real life," said Tina Hoff, Director of Public Health Information and Communication for the Kaiser Family Foundation. "Their concerns are practical, not political."

Currently, 89% of the nation's nearly 20 million public secondary school students will take sex education at least once between 7th and 12th grades. The typical class these students take today is co-ed and is taught as part of health education.

To download a copy of the report, go to: www.kff.org/content/2000/3048

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation Press Release, www.kff.org, September 26, 2000.
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