KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - Today, Senator Patty Murray's amendment to the Omnibus Spending bill was adopted with unanimous consent, successfully restoring $120 million in fiscal year 2003 for the Community Access Program (CAP). The bill will go to conference with the House once the Senate completes its work on the package. CAP provides the seed money that gives community health care agencies the ability to build partnerships to better serve vulnerable populations, like the uninsured.

"Once again, Senator Murray has demonstrated her leadership and unwavering support for CAP funded programs such as Kids Get Care, which in its short existence has demonstrated how federal dollars can effectively serve children and families and link them to important health services, which they might not otherwise receive," said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County.

In King County, Kids Get Care grew out of a community concern about the number of children not receiving basic health care services despite the increased availability of health insurance. One in nine Washington residents are uninsured and demand for programs that provide care for the uninsured is expected to grow. The program operates through a strong system of community coordination among its five community clinics and surrounding community based organizations such as Head Start, WIC, and agencies serving recent immigrants.

Through this network, children are screened in the areas of oral, developmental and physical health and then linked to clinic hub sites where Kids Get Care case managers eliminate barriers for families to receive ongoing well child and oral health care.

In October 2002, Senator Murray visited the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic, one of Kids Get Care's five hub sites. She witnessed the integrated approach of Kids Get Care and watched as a physician, a dentist, and a psychologist all worked together with a young child. "The whole child was being cared for," the Senator stated after her visit, "not just the body parts."

The program received $989,170 in CAP funding in September 2001 and was awarded second year funding from CAP through August 2003 at the maximum allowable level of 70% of the original grant award.

"Kids Get Care has been a core part of improving the capacity and quality of well child care at community health centers," said Anne Shields, Associate Director of Community Health Centers of King County. "The program allows the agency to do the best possible job in bringing in and meeting the needs of children and families. Third year CAP funding will enable us to provide care to even more children."

Kids Get Care's first year accomplishments include:

• Established health care homes for over 3,000 children
• Increased the number of Well Child exams performed at partner clinic sites by an average of 46%
• Screened 18,000 children for developmental delays
• Trained over 1,700 health professionals and staff members at community based organizations and clinics to provide oral and developmental health screenings
• Scanned 4,000 children for oral health problems and assisted with linkages to oral health services
• Trained 200 community based organization outreach workers, such as Head Start and Child Care agencies in oral health promotion, and over 100 primary care medical providers in oral health promotion and assessment
  
• Developed Red Flags Developmental and Oral Health Risk Assessment tools

"Kids Get Care is woven into the fabric of Odessa Brown Children's Clinic care coordination. Well Child checks include a special emphasis on infant mental health, oral health risk assessment and early literacy," said Paula Holmes, Director of Odessa Brown Children's Clinic. "Funding for the third year will assure continued development of creative models of care that integrate medical, dental and mental health prevention and early intervention strategies."

Anticipated future accomplishments include:

• Establishing health care homes for 9,000 kids
• Training 3,000 community based organization staff and community advocates to screen/scan 30,000 kids for developmental and oral health
• Increasing the number of Well Child visits at partner clinic sites by 30%
• Increasing the number of kids whose dental treatment is completed at partner clinic sites by 25%

CAP is a program of the Health Resources and Services Administration program and was established in September 2001 to strengthen health care services for the uninsured and underinsured. The program has funded numerous community-based programs throughout the country serving low-income populations. Currently, four Washington State communities receive CAP funding.

For further information about Kids Get Care, please go to www.metrokc.gov/health/kgc