Realizing Medicaid’s Potential to Support Young Children and Families: From Policy to Meaningful Systems and Practice Change
This session was presented during the BUILD 2022 National Conference.
Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program serve roughly half of all young and the vast majority of low-income children under age six. In recent years, a number of states have taken steps to improve Medicaid’s ability to more effectively serve young children and their families from screenings to needed interventions, such as parent-child therapy. Broad awareness of the maternal health crisis has further compelled states to adopt health equity priorities in state Medicaid programs to more effectively reach and serve communities of color. The children’s mental health crisis coming out of the pandemic also raises questions about opportunities to better address children’s social-emotional development before they reach kindergarten. As states advance new policy changes, such as 12-month postpartum coverage or new screening requirements in pediatric primary care, what steps are needed to ensure that these improvements translate to change at the systems and practice levels? As many states seek to advance health equity as part of their Medicaid priorities, where does sustained community and family engagement come in to ensure implementation of new policies works as intended? This session will feature national and state perspectives from Oregon and Washington on opportunities to realize the potential of Medicaid to make lasting improvements for young children and their families.
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Family Voice Matters: The Importance of Effective Parent Coalitions
Blog January 31, 2023
BUILD recently interviewed five parent leaders about their experience in parent coalitions. In addition to reminding us of the need to address implicit bias on behalf of all families and children, they provided their thoughts on ways to ensure the coalitions fulfill their purpose and best meet the needs of families, and whether there’s room for improvement in the way they function. Here’s what they told us.
Incorporating Montessori Programs in State Quality Improvement Systems Webinar Resources
Archived Meeting Resources January 31, 2023
States are making significant advancements in their quality improvement systems (QIS) as they look for solutions to widen the aperture and fully embrace a mixed-delivery system that will best serve children, families, and the early care and education workforce. To achieve this, QIS policies need to become more flexible and create different pathways to quality, including a variety of established, high-quality delivery models. In this session participants heard how Montessori programs are working with state leaders from Illinois, Michigan, and Washington to be part of the QIS.
Under 3 DC: Lessons in How Leading with Equity Creates Equity for Children and Families
Blog January 18, 2023
Under 3 DC Coalition members Sia Barbara Ferguson Kamara, LaDon Love, and Kim Perry contributed to this blog.