School-Based Health Initiative

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THE ISSUE - ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

Low-income families lack access to health care
In 2006, the Bay Area Partnership launched our newest initiative: School-Based Health.  Access to health care is a significant problem for Bay Area families – particularly low-income families – for a variety of reasons, from a lack of health insurance to the inaccessibility of health care providers.  When health care services are available through MediCal or Healthy Families, many families are unaware or cannot access services because of work responsibilities or transportation issues.  The problem is worse for non-citizens and undocumented immigrants, who may be reluctant to reveal their status by accessing government sponsored programs.

Health care resources are going unused
School leaders urged us to tackle this issue because they do not have the capacity to access the complex set of funding streams available to address the health care needs of their students.  And much of the funding available to schools to support health programs —from health insurance enrollment to school-based health centers—has been widely underutilized.  For example, in a 2005 report, the California State Auditor estimated that an astounding $57 million dollars of MediCal Administrative Activities (MAA) funding went untapped by the state’s school districts.  This funding could have increased health insurance outreach and improved health care access for California’s children. 

Schools are ideally suited to reach children and their families
Schools are an ideal setting for providing health care information and services because children are already there, and parents are comfortable receiving information and support from trusted teachers and administrators.  Few other institutions have this kind of direct and consistent interaction with children and their families.

OUR INITIATIVE: INCREASE SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH SERVICES

The goal of the School-Based Health Initiative is to improve health care access for children and families by helping school districts access a wide range of underutilized public resources. Similar to the Partnership's other initiatives, School-Based Health is using a multi-faceted approach that includes conducting local outreach and education, connecting partners to resources, and providing technical assistance to schools and districts.

Our steps in this effort include:

• Researching and documenting existing resources that support school-based health services (see below for more information on resources).
• Identifying funding gaps in existing programs
• Identifying best practices that can be shared and implemented across school districts
In March 2006, the Partnership co-sponsored a statewide conference to help schools maximize Medi-Cal funding. Conference participants learned how to increase participation in school-based MAA and Local Education Agency (LEA) Billing Option programs.
• Hosting a series of workshops on specialized topics; such as, financing mental health services at schools
• Conducting outreach on underutilized funding streams to schools and local government
• Facilitating partnerships between school districts, local government and community-based organizations to support more comprehensive school-based health services

Examples of Resources to Support School-Based Health Services:

• Local Education Agency (LEA) Billing Option
• Medi-Cal Administrative Activities (MAA)
• Child Health and Disability Prevention (CHDP)
• Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT)
• Family PACT (Planning, Access, Care and Treatment)
• Medi-Cal Minor Consent
• Mental Health Services Act (Proposition 63) funds
• Healthy Start

OUR GOAL

Since our founding, the Bay Area Partnership has helped the Bay Area’s lowest-income communities access more than $45 million in new funding for critical services including after school programs, school meals and nutrition education.  Our goal is to utilize our successful strategies to improve health care for California’s children and families.