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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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