Health Care Institute

CMCA submitted a Head Start Innovation and Improvement grant earlier this year to coordinate nationwide implementation of UCLA’s Health Care Institute. Last week we were notified that we have been awarded the grant. The grant is for just over $1 million over three years and we will focus primarily on Missouri for the first year, then east of the Mississippi and West of the Mississippi. Essentially this is a train the trainer model designed to increase the capacity of Head Start families to understand and address their health care needs and ultimately reduce strain on the Medicaid system. I think this fits nicely with the interests of many of our partners including Parents As Teachers, Mo HealthNet, and the Missouri Department of Social Services. I think there will be further-reaching opportunities beyond Head Start families as we get our grant into full gear. We will be recruiting Missouri Head Start programs to participate over the next few months. This grant will be heavily evaluated and I expect to show great outcomes over the next few years. This is a coup for Missouri and we intend to spread the benefit of this opportunity as far and wide as possible. While I tend to think social service interventions generally address the symptom rather than the cause, the HCI approach, like our Circles approach, Step Up to Leadership, and Family Development Credential, is designed to empower individuals and give them the tools to address their own needs and goals.

From the grant narrative:

“We understand the benefit of bringing low-literacy healthcare training to Missouri families. Using the low-literacy materials and methodologies that have been developed by the HCI at UCLA, families will become stronger advocates for the healthcare needs of their children and will also be able to better provide for the basic healthcare needs of their children. A healthy child has more opportunity to succeed in school and in life and healthier families mean healthier communities.”