Support for Families (continued)

Buy this book »

CHIP (www.cms.nhs.gov/home/schip.asp). In 1997, Congress enacted the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Eligible working families are those whose income is too high to qualify for Medicaid, but too low to afford private coverage. More than 90 percent of eligible children live in working families. In most states, children age 18 and younger in a working family of four earning up to $34,100 annually would qualify. The Children's Defense Fund estimated that in 1999, 10.8 million children under 18 lacked health insurance. Of the uninsured. 4.4 million were white, 3.4 million Hispanic, and 2. I million were African American. Compared with the insured, children without health insurance are four times more likely to have an un met medical problem, three times as likely to have an unmet dental need, and almost twice as likely to have an unmet vision problem. Lack of health insurance is a leading contributor to mild mental retardation and behavior disorders.

EPSDT (www.hrsa.gov/epsdt/default.htm). Medicaid and Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) provide health services to families who are unable to afford health insurance. Prenatal care, increased birth weight, decreased neonatal deaths, and fewer abnormalities are some of the benefits of EPSDT for poor children. Screening for lead poisoning is a required component of EPSDT treatment for all Medicaid-eligible children from 24 to 72 months. Childhood immunization programs, which prevent measles, rubella, mumps, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, are funded. As a result of EPSDT, in 1997, an estimated 37,177,000 recipients including low-income persons over 65, disabled, low-income children, and pregnant women received medical assistance (Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog, 1997).

Head Start (www.nhsa.org). Head Start is a federally funded program that provides preschoolers with a range of crucial services. The Head Start educational programs help youngsters learn school readiness skills, thus increasing their chances for academic success when they enter public school. Nutrition and medical screening, including EPSDT and dental checkups, are components of Head Start. Family member involvement is built into every Head Start program. Family members are encouraged to attend family membering workshops on such topics as nutrition and developmental play at home. Some Head Start programs are home based. Head Start teachers visit youngsters' homes and demonstrate early childhood activities for family members.

The most notable accomplishment of a Head Start preschool was attributed to the Perry Preschool Program in Ypsilanti, Michigan. By age 19, students who had attended the Perry program "were more likely to have finished high school, were dramatically less likely to have committed a crime, were less likely to be on welfare, and were earning more money" when compared to peers who had not attended the Perry program (Stein, Leinhardt, & Bickel. 1989. 149). Head Start children have demonstrated better school readiness skills, higher verbal achievement, and enhanced social competence when compared to other low-income children (www.nhsa.org).