Wednesday, April 24, 2024
4/24/2024
The Connecting Kids to Coverage West Virginia project is a collaborative, strategic response to the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) to ensure children and pregnant people who are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP receive clear messaging, receive unified messaging across the state, and in targeted areas, individual support, on how to enroll or re-enroll in these valuable, life-saving programs. Working with collaborative partners that specialize in and work with key populations and rural communities, project objectives and activities are organized around the following grant goals: -Create and sustain a statewide public relations campaign to educate and engage the public on the importance of keeping kids covered by health insurance, the benefits of accessing preventative care, and updates on policy change as the PHE ends. The partners will work with the national campaign, state advocates, and community spokespeople who can articulate how national policies and programs can positively affect local individuals. Special focus will be placed on marginalized populations that are sometimes hard to reach in different geographical areas of our state. -Implement a school-based outreach and engagement program that targets up to five county school systems each year. Intentional engagement during events, such as back-to-school activities and annual sports physicals, will help reach families when having health insurance is an essential step in attending school or participating in school activities. School staff, or community-based staff identified by the school system, will serve as outreach coordinators, working with families and school health staff to identify, educate, and collect the necessary data to support the project. The statewide public relations campaign will have an additional focus in these participating communities. An emphasis will be placed on meeting families where they are— by virtual meetings if transportation is a challenge and on social media. -Implement a community-based outreach and engagement program that targets up to 10 afterschool programs each year. These programs, often sponsored by community-based organizations or county school systems, provide a key opportunity to identify and work with families that need additional help accessing services, learning the benefits of health insurance, and enrolling using the online portal. Partners will help disseminate educational materials to all afterschool programs in the state, and we will study the potential of incorporating insurance enrollment in afterschool programs after the project ends. The statewide public relations campaign will provide additional focus in these participating communities. An emphasis will be placed on meeting families where they are— by virtual meetings if transportation is a challenge and on social media. -Collaborate with our state Medicaid and CHIP offices to ensure a smooth transition as the PHE ends to reduce health coverage losses.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
