Southeastern Wisconsin, CESA 1

Third Quarter 2012 Project ReportDate of report: 10/15/2012Project Title: REACH BC+ (CESAs #1 and #8)Funder: Wisconsin Partnership ProgramStart Date: June 1, 2011 End Date: May 31, 2014Persons completing this report: Caroline Gomez, Danielle Zirkel, and Jeni ApplebyProject Summary and Specific Goals:CKF will partner with the state’s CESA (Cooperative Educational Service Agency) and UWCooperative Extension systems. CESAs provide regional support centers for school districts andpersonnel, serving as centralized sources of materials, information, training, and opportunitiesfor school personnel to gather. Extension offers a network of experts who can be trained andthen called upon to offer technical assistance. Both are natural “nodes” in a network of supportthat will function to increase points of accessible and sustainable assistance for families. Weenvision this network to engage multiple, interrelated sources of assistance and expertise,bringing together public schools, community organizations, and expert resources of the state,including CKF.Years of experience have indicated to us that strengthening this on-the-ground network willtranslate to a system of assistance and public coverage for which there is support and long-termsustainability. This project seeks to test the model in CESA 8 in rural northwestern Wisconsinand urban southeastern Wisconsin before attempting statewide implementation. The areastargeted by the project serve 72 public school districts (not including Milwaukee Public Schools)in at least part of 14 counties and are home to 232,944 school children, an estimated 18,635 ofwhom are uninsured.Project Outcomes: As federal health care reform changes (and complicates) the landscape ofhealth insurance coverage, this project aims to have schools, their community partners andparents of school children:1) increase their awareness of and knowledge about BadgerCare+;2) improve existing attitudes about the role of schools in public coverage promotion andassistance;3) expand the scope and depth of partnerships and activities related to promoting publiccoverage options and enrollment;4) engage in systems and process change that makes interventions effective, efficient andsustainable; and, ultimately,5) reduce disparities in health coverage among minorities and in currently underserved areas.Insurance is a necessary part of the equation that assists with appropriate access to care forchildren.

Status of progress toward REACH BC+ project goals Quarter 3 - 2012CESA #8 (northeast Wisconsin): Continued contact with school staff for preparation for Fall Training. Introducted project and communicated with new Agency Administrator in CESA 8. Maintained close contact with Extension partners in Marinette County to pursue otherExtension partners in the CESA 8 region. Planned for promotion worksheet dissemination to school partners to help them workthrough ideas of BadgerCare+ promotion. Started intergrating information on the Affordable Care Act and how it relates to thefamilies that school staff work with throughout the year. Thus far, in year two (the 2012-2013 school year):o all districts have been exposed to the projecto formal introductions to 2 new extension partners and new CESA 8 staffo zero new districts have received in-depth training, one new district will betrained next quartero zero have newly become fully engaged with the projecto five school staff are providing one-on-one assistance to uninsured families orfamilies already enrolled in BadgerCare+ To date, including year one activities:o all districts have been exposed to the projecto all have been formally introducedo 10 have received in-depth trainingo 19 are fully engaged/ “signed on”o known action has been spurred in at least five districtsCESA #1 (southeast Wisconsin): Project Leads developed, customized and distributed back-to-school flyer and pressrelease to engaged district contacts. Project Leads presented to 70 pupil service directors and other contacts at the RegionalServices Network (RSN) meeting on September 27 th to introduce the REACH BC+ projectto new attendees and provide an overview of year one activities. Invitations extendedto attend a more in-depth October training. Nineteen attendees requested to be addedto the CKF newsletter list to receive additional and ongoing updates. Ongoing communications with RSN Director. Project Leads were informed that the Independent Charter School Collaborative wasabsorbed by CESA #1 and will now receive its communications. A number of charterschool contacts were present at the September RSN meeting. Informed of new Executive Director at CESA #1. Email communication and in-personintroduction to him prior to the RSN meeting. Thus far, in year two (the 2012-2013 school year):o all districts have been exposed to the projecto formal introductions to 40 of the 45 districts and 10 charter schoolso three new districts have received in-depth trainingo 12 have newly become fully engaged with the project, receiving regularcommunication from CKF via the listserve and Project Leads via emails

Continue to identify existing community resources in participating districts to facilitatestronger relationships.Promote our November 20 th webinar: “The Election’s Over: What’s Next for Health CareReform?”Build Capacity and Competence/Spur ActionCESA #8: A BadgerCare+ Basics training is planned for October 25, 2012 at Wausaukee SchoolDistrict. Identify other community health resources in CESA 8 to help school districts enrollfamilies in BadgerCare+ and receive health care services.CESA #1: In-depth training scheduled for October 8 th , 2012. Attempt to also present to during theSuburban School Social Workers Meeting, the School Psychology Networking Meeting,and training for School Nurses. As necessary, provide project introductions and BadgerCare+ basics trainings to newlyinterested districts. Follow-up with districts that have expressed interested in becoming Express EnrollmentCertified Providers. Provide engaged districts with training and materials on the Affordable Care Act as wellas any updates, changes to BadgerCare+ programming. Continue to identify local resources in each of the CESA #1 counties and districts.CESAs #1 and #8: Update the BadgerCare+ Toolbox, website and blog which will help schools betterconnect to uninsured families, including a new promotion page specifically for schoolcontacts. Promote training and outreach materials available in the toolbox.Broader dissemination: Utilize the CKF blog and Facebook page to provide current information to our projectpartners about regional, state, and national health care issues. Present at School Social Workers conference and the Wisconsin Teachers of English as aSecond Language conference. Submit to present at the Wisconsin Council ofAdministrators of Special Education Conferences