Miami/Dade County Public Schools and University of Miami Overview

Miami-Dade County Public Schools is the fourth largest school system in the United States.  Regular enrollment is approximately 345,000 students, with an additional 6,000 in pre-kindergarten and over 35,000 in adult/vocational classes.  64% of these students are Hispanic, and 25% are Black. Students within the district speak 56 different languages and represent 160 countries and approximately 68% are eligible to receive free/reduced lunch.  The University of Miami, a private research university with more than 15,000 students from around the world, is a vibrant and diverse academic community focused on teaching and   learning, the discovery of new knowledge, and service to the South Florida region and beyond. Led by President Donna E. Shalala, UM is comprised of 12 schools and colleges serving undergraduate and graduate students in more than 180 majors and programs. In 2010, U.S. News & World Report recognized UM as the No.1 school in Florida, ranking it No. 47 in its  listings of “America’s Best Colleges; it also cited several of its programs in “America’s Best Graduate Schools.”

 Connecting Families

Miami-Dade County has the highest percentage of uninsured and underinsured residents in Florida and among the highest in the nation. Over thirty percent of the children living in Miami-Dade County are below the poverty level with over 100,000 uninsured children who may be eligible for Florida KidCare.  Additionally, the uncertain state of the economy continues to play a vital role in this community as more working class families must survive without access to health care. The partnership between MDCPS and UM brings together two important community leaders with their own wealth of resources to collaborate on Florida KidCare outreach efforts.

The UM Pediatric Mobile Clinic (UMPMC) provides primary care, mental health care and social services to children and families living in Miami-Dade County’s most underserved and impoverished communities four days per week year-round. To reach out to these families, UMPMC and the MDCPS have partnered to bring affordable health care services to schools located in underserved areas of the county.   The impetus of this partnership is access to medical care and insurance coverage. This strategy provides an innovative way for children in need to receive services in the neighborhoods in which they live and the schools that they attend. The application assistance process is fairly simple and easily replicable.  Once a child is referred to UMPMC and arrives at the clinic, a needs assessment is conducted by a social worker.  Through the assistance of the MDCPS trained staff, a UMPMC social worker works together with the families to sign them up for Florida KidCare, the State of Florida’s high-quality, low-cost health insurance for children ages birth through age 18. One of the 150 MDCPS staff members who have been trained as Florida KidCare Liaison follows up with the family, ensuring they have been connected to the appropriate resources to receive coverage. MDCPS uses tracking logs to collect data on new and renewing families that have been assisted with the completion of a Florida KidCare application and families  These logs are used to assess the partnership’s strategy, processes and outcomes, which include tracking the number of children who are enrolled and retained in the program through the partnership’s outreach efforts. The UMPMC/MDCPS partnership also includes community outreach events and health fairs to connect families with health education, health screenings and Florida KidCare education and onsite Florida Kid Care enrollment assistance.