Southcentral Foundation's Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment Program - Project Title: Connecting Kids to Coverage Expansion and Enhancement Applicant Name: Southcentral Foundation Address: 4501 Diplomacy Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508 Website: https://www.southcentralfoundation.com/ Project Director: Michelle Wenger, Administrator Grant Funds Requested: Project period at $3,000,00 or 5 budget periods at $600,000 each Organizational Overview: Southcentral Foundation (SCF) is an Alaska Native 501(c) (3) nonprofit with a vision of a Native Community that enjoys physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness. To reach this vision, SCF is committed to assisting Alaska Native and American Indian (AI/AN) children and families obtain, maintain, and utilize health care insurance. Project Goals: This project will aim to reach AI/AN children, parents, and pregnant individuals in Alaska. While the proposed project focuses on AI/AN people, SCF will provide anyone screening, enrollment, and application assistance. The project incorporates targeting a mix of urban and rural communities and a statewide reach with the Partnership Referral Network. Proposed Project: This project aims to enhance SCF’s Connecting Kids to Coverage (CKC) Program to increase enrollment of eligible children, parents, and pregnant individuals in Alaska in Medicaid and Denali Kid Care (DKC). DKC is Alaska’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Because AI/AN people generally live in areas of persistent poverty in both rural and urban environments, often relocating between hyper rural and hub communities due medical care shortages, additional support in accessing health insurance is needed. As a result, this proposed project emphasizes education, outreach, enrollment, one-on-one direct application assistance, and community collaborator engagement. SCF has secured written agreements with the State of Alaska, allowing access to the state’s data systems to verify and support enrollments. Additionally, the IQualify Software is a comprehensive tool for the project staff to manage the Medicare, Medicaid, DKC enrollment process, including distinctly tracking and reporting for multiple projects. The outreach and enrollment plan incorporates four primary strategies: 1) Outreach Events and Initiatives covers the work in the community at events, with partners, and through social media to share information about health insurance coverage options. 2) Application and Renewal Assistance is the direct and one-on-one support provided by SCF’s Health Benefits Specialists (HBS). The HBS are strategically embedded in the community and clinic locations to reach the target population. 3) A Partnership Referral Network has been established to support SCF’s CKC program and collaboratively work on targeted outreach efforts. 4) School-Based Outreach is established in the Anchorage School District (ASD), Alaska’s largest school district. The comprehensive plan includes realistic yet ambitious target measures, with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of eligible AI/AN children and families with health insurance in Alaska. Historical Achievement on Project Enrollment and Renewal Goals: SCF has been a CKC grantee for nearly 15 years. Over the past three years, SCF has strengthened its collaborative efforts with the ASD and staff are being invited to school events by principles. The program has continued to fortify its relationship with the State of Alaska to ensure that submitted applications are in good order, reducing the risk of procedural based rejections. SCF is one of the only organizations in Alaska that has access to the State’s data system to track application status. The program has submitted new enrollments and renewal applications at a rate that exceeds the State’s application processing capacity.