Early Childhood
A child’s brain develops most rapidly in the earliest years of life, building the foundation for learning, behavior and health. Medicaid, along with CHIP, serves four out of five young children in low-income families, serving as a logical place to reach these children and their families before kindergarten. Prioritizing young children and their families in Medicaid through cross-sector, innovative practice change has the potential to improve their lifetime trajectories, overall population health and long-run savings. Through blog posts, papers, and resources, CCF seeks to highlight ways Medicaid can do more to set our nation’s youngest children on a path of healthy physical, social, and emotional development.
The Rate of Uninsured Infants and Toddlers is Growing. Don’t Let COVID-19 Pandemic Make Things Worse
Three+ weeks into my at-home work existence with a fellow teleworking spouse, a 3rd grader and a preschooler and I’ve found a new base level of stress, despite yoga, workouts, mediation and ALL of the deep breaths. It’s hard. And yet our family is among the luckiest of Americans. We are safe and healthy. We […]
Rate of Uninsured Infants and Toddlers on the Rise
Introduction The percentage of infants and toddlers without health insurance is growing. The overall rate of uninsured children under 3 increased significantly for the first time in several years, growing from 3.5 percent in 2016 to 4.1 percent in 2018 (see Figure 1). This trend mirrors the national increase in the uninsured rate for all […]
State Leaders Advance Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Policy
We know that mental health issues can take root very early in life. Infants and young children can have diagnosable and treatable mental health disorders. However, with the right treatment, we can ameliorate the effects and prevent the more costly impacts and interventions that often result when mental health challenges go unaddressed. States are increasingly […]
New Resource Highlights What Works for Healthy Social and Emotional Development of Young Children
As more states look to support healthy social and emotional development of young children and their families, the experts at the National Center for Children in Poverty recently launched a database that combines descriptions of research-informed policies and programs that support infant and early childhood mental health with profiles of model states implementing them. The […]
In Medicaid Expansion States, Fewer Young Children Go Uninsured
Thanks to developments since the start of the new year, this post can start with some good news for young children: three more states have made progress toward expanding Medicaid. Last week, Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and Republican Sen. Jim Denning announced plans to move forward to with Medicaid expansion when the legislative session […]
Advancing Early Relational Health in Child Health and Communities: Opportunities for Medicaid Support
Early relational health (ERH) is a dynamic concept that has emerged in the last few years from leaders in pediatrics, public health, early childhood mental health, and child health policy. ERH elevates the primacy of the earliest relational experiences and interactions between infants and their caregivers that builds the foundations for health, learning, and social […]