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En español: Los centros
de recursos familiares
del condado de
Solano conectan a los
niņos
con los servicios de
salud |
This article originally appeared in the July-August 2004 issue of the
Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.
Family Support Works!
Solano County
family resource centers link kids to health care
By Melia Franklin
Angela Rodriguez, a recent immigrant from Mexico,
works two part-time jobs cleaning offices, but she can't afford health
care for her two children. When her 10-year-old daughter, Ibeth, complained
of ear pain, and her teacher said she might need glasses, Rodriguez turned
to the Fairfield-Suisun Family Resource Center (FRC).
Going to the FRC was natural-it's located at her child's
school, Anna Kyle Elementary in Fairfield,
and staff there had helped Rodri-guez in the past. When Rodriguez got
behind on her rent, FRC Community Liaison Ana Maria Parras got help from
a local church. And Parras set up a counseling appointment for her 13-year-old
son when he was having problems with anger and aggressiveness. Rodriguez
says visiting the FRC is comfortable because "everyone speaks my language.
Otherwise, I couldn't communicate."
First, Parras got Ibeth an appointment for her ear pain
through Solano County's
Children's Health Access Program (CHAP), which provides free one-time
medical visits. Then she contacted the Lion's Club vision program to get
Ibeth a free eye exam and glasses.
Meanwhile Rodriguez and Parras worked to get the family
enrolled in California Kids, a low-cost, foundation-funded health insurance
program. Rodriguez couldn't afford the enrollment fee-two months' advance
payment-so Parras called a local church, which cut a check to California
Kids.
With health insurance for her kids, "I feel much more
secure," says Rodriguez. Paying her first monthly premium of $20 "was
hard because I don't work a lot," she adds. "But I realize how important
it is....The bills are higher when your kids get sick and you don't have
health insurance."
FRCs connect families to health
programs
Because of their strong relationships with families and
community resources, Solano
County's eight FRCs-coordinated
and supported by the Solano
County's Children's Network-are at the center of a countywide push for access to health
care for all kids. They work in partnership with local schools and the
Solano Kids Insurance Program (SKIP), started in 1998 by the Solano County
Coalition for Better Health.
Through the coalition, formed 15 years ago when the county
hospital closed, "all of the hospitals share in the cost of covering the
uninsured," says Jacque McLaughlin, SKIP's director. About two-thirds
of the county's uninsured children are eligible for MediCal or Healthy
Families, but income caps and immigration status lock many families out
of these programs.
To bridge this gap, the coalition subsidizes health insurance
premiums for kids whose families earn up to 300 percent of the federal
poverty level (or about $45,800 for a family of three), regardless of
immigration status. SKIP links families to all available insurance options.
As a result, less than five percent of Solano
County children lack health
insurance.
Last year, SKIP tried a new strategy-working with schools,
FRCs, and other partners to enroll 100 percent of children at targeted
schools. So far, 13 schools in the Fairfield-Suisun
Unified School District
have reached that goal, including Anna Kyle, which started with about
70 percent of kids insured.
Trust makes the connection
"This is the best strategy we have ever had," says McLaughlin.
"The FRC can play such a key role [because it's] known and trusted by
the surrounding neighborhood." Here's how the partners work together in
the Fairfield-Suisun school district:
- Schools include a bilingual flyer in their enrollment packets,
encouraging families to contact the FRCs to find health insurance. The
flyer also advertises a district-wide language line, which links parents
with translators in many languages for three-way conversations, says
Ariceli Cantu-Tong, director of instructional support for the Fairfield-Suisun
Unified School District.
Linking kids to health care "has become part of the system," she says,
"part of a systemic approach to effective schools."
- SKIP sends a worker to the FRC one-and-a-half days per week.
As a part of the FRC team, SKIP works with schools to identify families
without insurance and helps families complete application forms.
- FRCs connect the dots: "The FRC is the place to identify the
kids who need health insurance," says Ana Dineen, director of the Fairfield-Suisun
FRC and a public health nurse. "The FRC really knows each family and
their situation. Programs know they won't get fraudulent referrals."
As a result, "almost every kid who comes through our FRC has health
insurance," says Dineen.
Because often "families don't come in for insurance until
their child is sick," it's essential to be able to link them to health
care, says McLaughlin. When a child is ill, the school nurse calls the
FRC. Dineen can make the child an appointment through the Children's Health
Access Program (CHAP), a partnership with North Bay Health Program, which
covers Solano County
children for a one-time medical visit.
Sharing resources, sharing
success
The partnerships are key, says
Dineen: "Community partners help each other...achieve the outcomes. People
get hung up on ownership over outcomes. I say, if your kids are healthier,
then you look good. It doesn't matter who gets the credit."
The schools recognize that they also benefit from helping
to get kids covered. "Healthier kids do better in school. They have fewer
social and emotional problems," says Sharon Tucker, superintendent of
the Fairfield-Suisun Unified
School District. "Schools receive
money only for children who actually attend. The fewer days kids miss,
the more stable our income is."
But it's not about the money, Tucker adds. "As educators,
we have a responsibility to be advocates for children. You must feel physically
and emotionally safe and secure before you can really learn. It's a no-brainer."
Resources:
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The research shows
- Studies show that kids who have health insurance are healthier than
kids who don't. And kids with
Healthy Families insurance are better able to pay attention in school
than children without insurance. (Research review
by the 100% Campaign).
- A Florida study showed that uninsured children are 25 percent more
likely to miss school than insured children. (Florida
Healthy Kids Corporation, 1997).
- One study showed that access to health care dramatically improves
after enrollment in health insurance. (J.R. Lave et
al, Journal of the American Medical Association, 1998).
- SKIP surveys show that kids with insurance receive more preventive
care; most have been in to see primary care doctor every six months.
Family Support Works! is a 6-part series supported by the Evelyn and
Walter Haas Jr. Fund and the S.H. Cowell Foundation. For more information
contact Jean Tepperman, 510-444-7136, aacjean@4children.org
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What is an FRC?
The family resource center (FRC), part of an innovative
strategy to promote healthy families and communities, is a warm and welcoming
community hub that engages families in a variety of programs and activities
that build on their strengths and meet basic needs. FRCs respond
to what the community says it needs and often work in partnership with
other community agencies.
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