Tallahassee, FL- Aunque que la cobertura sigue siendo desigual, Florida ha realizado avances en la reducción tanto del número como de la tasa de niños sin seguro médico, según reporta un documento preparado por el Centro los Niños y las Familias de la Universidad de Georgetown.

Ha sido un buen progreso el logrado por Florida al ampliar la cobertura médica a los niños, pero los expertos dicen que aún queda trabajo por hacer para que los niños cuenten con lo necesario para mantenerse saludables.

El reporte publicado hoy (jueves) por el Centro para los Niños y las Familias de la Universidad de Georgetown, muestra que entre 2013 y 2015 la cantidad de niños sin seguro médico bajó 36 por ciento en la Florida, y la tasa porcentual se redujo cerca de cuatro puntos.

Mark Pafford es el actual líder de la minoría en la Casa de Representantes y Presidente del grupo Red de Información Comunitaria sobre la Ley de Salud (Community Health Action Information Network, CHAIN por sus siglas en inglés). Pafford comentó que asegurar a los niños del estado tiene un efecto positivo en la totalidad, que beneficia al estado completo.

“Estudiantes que se desempeñan mejor, que necesitan menos cuidados de emergencia para cosas como un trabajo dental, y uno esperaría que eso se aplique también a los padres.”

A nivel nacional, la tasa de no-asegurados obtuvo el mayor descenso registrado en los últimos dos años, ya que el 95 porciento de los niños tenía seguro médico en 2015. Florida está atrás de la tasa nacional y sigue siendo el tercer estado con el mayor número de niños sin seguro del país.

La Directora Ejecutiva en el centro y autora del reporte, Joan Alker, asegura que el 95 por ciento de los niños cubiertos por un seguro médico es un gran logro y lo atribuye a las disposiciones de la Ley de Cuidado Asequible, "Affordable Care Act", complementadas con otras políticas y programas. Pero asegura que sigue habiendo disparidades importantes que necesitan atenderse, particularmente en estados como Florida.

“La mitad de los demás niños sin seguro viven en el sur. Vemos también una enorme proporción entre los niños Latinos. Sus números han mejorado pero siguen estando desproporcionadamente descubiertos.”

Para continuar avanzando hacia la cobertura de todos los niños, Alker sostiene que se debe continuar trabajando para reforzar Medicaid, el Programa de Seguro Médico para Niños (Children’s Health Insurance Program, CHIP) y la Ley de Cuidado Asequible. En Florida había cerca de 284 mil niños sin seguro médico en 2015, que contrastan con los 445 mil en 2013.

El reporte (en inglés): http://ccf.http://ccf.georgetown.edu/


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The need for child care and early learning is critical, especially in rural Arkansas. One nonprofit is working to fill those gaps by giving providers a chance to get more education.

The Career Pathways Program with Save the Children partners with universities to grow the workforce of child care and preschool providers.

Joyce Taylor, Eastern Arkansas parent-family community engagement coordinator for Save the Children, had more than 20 years' experience with Head Start and said the program gave her the opportunity to pursue a bachelor's degree. It also provides her with resources she can use, in the classroom and with families.

"In particular, we have a family with a child that is autistic," Taylor noted. "Mom is working with the child at home. So I have things that I can share with that family, so she can continue to work with her child."

More than 153,000 openings for child care workers are projected over the next decade, largely driven by the need to replace those who have left the field or retired, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Taylor pointed out some children have challenging behaviors, and may have a lot of things going on at home. It is her job to help them thrive in preschool.

"Because we're the first start, when they come into Head Start, that's their first opportunity to be in a learning environment," Taylor explained. "It's up to us to do everything that we can do, to help make that first experience successful."

Karen Harrison, managing director of career in education workforce development for Save the Children, said rural areas have access to fewer resources compared to urban areas, so the program focuses on addressing the specific gaps in rural communities. She added the Pathways program aims to reduce barriers to obtaining a higher-ed credential or degree.

"All of our pathways come with incentives," Harrison emphasized. "We either pay all or partial of their tuition; we pay stipends, for books, supplies and materials. We also give 'barrier reduction' stipends. We know that child care for participants themselves can be an issue; transportation, technology needs."

Harrison added the pathway begins with a Child Development Associate credential, followed by an associate degree, and ultimately a bachelor's degree. In the process, they improve the career opportunities for workers, as well as the quality of early learning.

A persistent child care worker shortage across New Hampshire is leaving families with few options.

The state is currently short more than 7,000 child care positions but low wages and burnout are driving workers from the field and forcing some centers to close.

Shannon Tremblay, director of the New Hampshire Child Care Advisory Council, said workers are struggling to care for their own families with wages barely above the federal poverty line.

"No one wants to come in for a low wage," Tremblay pointed out. "No one wants to come in making $15 an hour, working long hours in a stressful environment."

Tremblay argued greater state investment will create long-term benefits for both parents and children, some of whom may have disabilities or behavioral issues which could be identified earlier by trained child care staff.

Last year, state lawmakers invested more than $60 million in child care services, including $15 million for the creation of child care workforce grants and investments in the state's Family Resource Centers.

Tremblay emphasized the end of career and technical education programs in New Hampshire high schools broke the pipeline of workers entering the field, putting greater pressure on current staff to do it all.

"Our providers are the case manager, the cook, the plumber," Tremblay observed. "They want to provide that high-quality care and right now it's just, they can't do it."

Tremblay stressed pandemic-era funding to support the child care industry will run out in September, so state lawmakers need to act. She added the state could increase wages so the burden does not fall on New Hampshire families, who currently spend roughly $24,000 a year on care for two children under age five.

The child welfare system in Pennsylvania faces a staffing crisis affecting children and families throughout the system.

The Child Welfare Resource Center said about 30 counties report caseworker vacancy rates of 30% or higher

Terry Clark, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services, at a state Senate hearing on child welfare, challenged the Departments of Education and Human Services to work together to develop a STEM-focused model for human services. It could offer young people opportunities for training, apprenticeships and careers in child welfare, juvenile justice and behavioral health.

"We spend a lot of time focusing on colleges and universities," Clark noted. "But we believe we might want to back this up a little bit, and start looking at middle schools and high schools. Try to reinvigorate, get younger students motivated and trying to come into this field."

Clark pointed out some agencies have asked supervisors and even people from other departments to take on casework responsibilities. A recent Philadelphia study found Community Umbrella Agencies had an average 45% turnover rate, with vacancies ranging from 21-60 positions.

Clark observed private providers face workforce challenges similar to the county child welfare agencies. He emphasized counties are beginning to explore more contractual relationships with private providers for needed work.

"Counties are starting to put out RFPs, calls for private providers to help supplement their workforce," Clark stressed. "That means they're asking private providers to take on roles and functions that, in the past, were primarily done by counties themselves."

Clark argued competitive wages are seen as crucial to attract and retain child welfare workers, and county funding often falls short. He added student loan forgiveness and fellowship programs may be promising ways to bring new people into the field, but lawmakers would have to agree.

"There have been House bills and different Senate bills that have been introduced, or at least in draft form over the years," Clark acknowledged. "We hope that there's continued discussion about those, because if we can get some movement on those, we think those will really help."

He told legislators the turnover trends will not change significantly without increased investment in workers.