California is home to 700,000 uninsured but eligible children – nearly 15 percent of all uninsured but eligible children in the nation. Because of this, California-based organizations can make a huge dent in enrolling eligible children by stepping up to the Challenge to Connect Kids to Coverage.

Children Now has done its part by accepting this challenge and working to ensure that Californian children eligible for health coverage through Medicaid or CHIP be enrolled. Our approach is to build on our strengths and existing networks to further highlight the need for uninsured children to get coverage and create new opportunities to get those children enrolled.

As part of the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge, Children Now intends to undertake the following activities: 

• Continue to collaborate with coalition partners to educate families and advocates about available health coverage programs, as well as to promote and market opportunities and venues where families can sign up for coverage;
• Encourage and support policies and networks of community-based application assistors to help families apply for coverage so that children don’t delay getting covered because of incomplete applications;
• Develop local outreach strategies with community-based partners, based on successful best practices, which are identified as having the highest potential impact on enrollment;
• Form new and strengthen existing partnerships with non-health organizations, such as child care centers and afterschool programs that may serve as a venue to identify and enroll uninsured children;
• Work with state agencies and other stakeholders to eliminate red tape, simplify the application process, minimize documentation requirements at enrollment, and reduce paperwork at renewal;
• Promote a “culture of children’s coverage” by incorporating strong language into our messaging about enrolling eligible children and by elevating the issue as part of The Children’s Movement statewide campaign to give a powerful voice to children’s issue in the budget and state policies;
• Ensure that outreach efforts and materials reflect California’s diverse population and are made available in multiple languages and are distributed in a culturally-appropriate way; and
• Engage with local government officials, business leaders, and faith-based leaders to take up the challenge and stress the economic and moral imperative of keeping children covered.