“Over the past decade, Covering Kids & Families (CKF) coalitions around the country have played a central role in advancing coverage for children and families. The lessons learned are critical to the successful implementation of national health reform,” noted Joan Alker, Co-Executive director of the Georgetown Center for Children and Families. “We are excited to serve as a technical resource to network members and to promote awareness of proven practices and promising strategies in outreach, enrollment, retention, and coordination.”

“The ongoing efforts and lessons learned by CKF coalitions around the country are vital as we implement the coverage expansions of national health reform,” said Andy Hyman, coverage team director, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “We are pleased to continue to help enhance the capacity and broaden the policy expertise of the network.”

The NCKF network is a community of organizations and individuals committed to advancing health care coverage and equal access to high quality health care. The network seeks to sustain and build upon the strength and collective expertise of grantees from the national Covering Kids & Families initiative as well as other organizations and partners.

CKF was a multi-year national initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to enroll eligible, uninsured children and families in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The initiative focused on three proven strategies to enroll eligible, uninsured children and adults:

• Simplification of eligibility policies and practices,
• Coordination of eligibility policies and procedures among different coverage programs, and outreach to eligible, uninsured children and adults.

CCF will partner with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) and the Southern Institute on Children and Families on this project.

For more information on the project, visit http://ccf.georgetown.edu/index/nckfn or contact Tricia Brooks, CCF Senior Fellow, at 202-365-9148 or pab62@georgetown.edu.

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