Mike Myslinski
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The Teachers for Healthy Kids project sent this postcard to CTA members to equip them with information they could share with parents about how to enroll their children in low-cost or no-cost health insurance programs |
A new $1.2 million grant and a radio ad airing statewide are the latest signs that CTA's Teachers for Healthy Kids project is a growing success. The project is entering its third year of getting low-cost and no-cost health insurance to needy students.
The grant comes in the latest round of funding from The California Endowment, a health care foundation that has co-funded the project with CTA since it began in 2002. CTA and the California Association of Health Plans are partners in seeing that the Teachers for Healthy Kids project continues to give students a healthy chance to learn.
The $1.2 million grant will fund ambitious outreach programs for 2005 and 2006 to be coordinated by health plan employees and CTA's Community Outreach Department. A bilingual website [http://www.teachersforhealthykids.com] shows how teachers can get more involved, as well as obtain the necessary classroom materials for distribution.
The project trains educators about the state's low-cost Healthy Families health insurance, which is available to working families, and the no-cost Medi-Cal program, which is available to families with low or no income. Under the Healthy Families program, a family of four with an annual income of up to $47,136 is eligible for medical, dental and vision care for children aged 18 and younger. Monthly premiums are only $4 to $9 per child, up to a maximum of $27.
Families access the public health insurance through private health plans.
The new CTA radio ad airing on 56 stations during November — including Spanish and Asian-language stations — reminds the public that teachers are making a difference in the fight to insure children.
"Over 1 million California children don't have health insurance and don't get regular health care," says CTA President Barbara E. Kerr in the radio spot.
"That means more missed school days and less learning. So we've teamed up with the California Association of Health Plans and The California Endowment to help out."
In the ad, three CTA members talk about how good health makes a major difference for student learning. The teachers are Benee Hopson, a member of the Sacramento City Teachers Association; Susan Ross, a member of the Amador County Teachers Association; and Etta Martin-Lee, a member of the San Juan Teachers Association.
"Good health care can make a big difference for student learning," says Hopson. "Healthy students come to school ready to learn and are less likely to fall behind."
"With CTA's help, we offer parents information on how to get their children signed up," says Ross.
"The first step is to let parents know that low-cost or no-cost medical, dental and vision programs are available," says Martin-Lee.
"If you or someone you know has a child who needs health coverage, ask a teacher," concludes Kerr.
CTA Vice President David A. Sanchez and other CTA members deliver the same message in the Spanish spot. Robert Chavez, a former board member of the Santa Ana Educators Association in Orange County, has joined scores of CTA members across the state in spreading the word about insurance programs available for children.
In addition to passing out brochures and posters at several schools, he persuaded the district school board to pass a resolution endorsing the project. He saw the need firsthand at Fremont Elementary where he teaches.
"I believe that all kids should have access to medical and vision and dental care," Chavez says. "Teachers want kids to be healthy so they can come to school every day."
The project targets districts that have a high number of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.
"The word is definitely getting out in this district," says Chavez.
In Tracy Unified School District in San Joaquin County, 132 teachers passed out 2,618 health insurance surveys to children. Classes with the highest survey return rates were rewarded with pizza parties.
The surveys revealed that scores of children needed health insurance. In total, 164 families at five schools reported not having any health insurance, and 241 families requested more information. Each family received a follow-up call.
"Teachers know firsthand that healthy children are children who are ready to learn," says Tracy Educators Association President Ann Mooney, who coordinated the survey effort. "The Teachers for Healthy Kids project helps keep kids well and in school."
The school board approved a resolution in support of the Teachers for Healthy Kids project.
So did the school board in the Central Valley town of Porterville, thanks to ongoing work by retired teacher Carmen Martinez-Eoff, who was asked to be the point person for the outreach project by Porterville Education Association President Verl Jett. "We've got a lot of need here and Carmen really recognized that," says Jett. "I can't say enough about her work."
Working with local representatives of Blue Cross and Health Net, Martinez-Eoff made sure there was a table with Healthy Families information at the district's Halloween carnival and is arranging meetings with school nurses. After three decades of teaching in Porterville Unified, she knows the students, many of them children of Tulare County migrant workers, need affordable health care.
"So many teachers here had not heard of Healthy Families," she says. "They know about it now. It's important they know about it so they can tell parents."
