Connecting kids to coverage outreach and enrollment project - fifty-two thousand missouri children are eligible for medicaid/chip but are not enrolled

Legal services of eastern missouri's proposed connecting kids to coverage project will target school districts within the ST. Louis metropolitan area with high populations of low-income and at risk children and youth, as well as two additional populations with low participation rates in medicaid and chip in eastern missouri: 1) homeless children, and 2) children living in immigrant families. Legal services of eastern missouri's (legal services) proposed project service area also has high rates of children who are homeless and children living in immigrant families. Statistics show that homeless families lack appropriate health insurance at a higher rate than even low-income families and children from immigrant families are likely to be uninsured. The project will also expand to assist pregnant women and parents with enrollment and renewals. To meet the health care needs of this population of children and families, legal services' connecting kids to coverage project will engage schools and other community agency partners in outreach, enrollment, and retention activities. The project's goals are: 1) to enroll or retain 600 eligible children in medicaid and chip, 2) to enroll 200 pregnant women in medicaid; 3) to enroll 150 parents in medicaid; 4) to handle 1,000 requests for enrollment and renewal assistance through the project's helpline; and 5) to identify and address systemic barriers to enrollment and retention during the three year cooperative agreement funding period. To achieve this, legal services respectfully requests $798,638 over three years to dedicate three full-time project staff members (one project director who is a current employee, an outreach coordinator who is a current employee, and one outreach and enrollment specialist to be hired) to train 10 school nurses in 5 school districts; 10 homeless enrollment coordinators in 10 different school districts and at 5 community partner agencies; receive 1,000 requests for medicaid enrollment and renewal assistance via the project helpline; and identify and address systemic barriers to enrollment and retention that will flow directly from the problems experienced by individual clients. Ultimately, the project will ensure that low-income missourians obtain health insurance coverage that translates into meaningful access to health care.