King County Children's Health Initiative

The King County Children's Health Initiative was established by the King County Council and community partners to identify and enroll children in the public health insurance programs for which they were eligible. Washington State's Cover All Kids law became effective in July 2007, making an estimated 9,000 children in King County eligible for public health insurance programs. The Children's Health Initiative helps families enroll their children in coverage and assists them in establishing regular sources of medical and dental care. The program is a public and private collaboration with funding from King County and community partners. The initiative has three main components: 1) county-funded access and outreach activities, 2) advocacy and alignment work, and 3) privately-funded pilot projects.

The goal of the Children's Health Initiative is to provide children with consistent access to health care services.

Between January 2007 and June 2009 the King County Children's Health Initiative has identified and enrolled more than 5,700 children in publicly-funded health coverage. The program has connected more than 4,500 children with medical homes and more than 3,000 children with dental homes. The program has successfully advocated to expand the publicly-funded health benefits to children whose families earn between 250% and 300% of the federal poverty level. Children's Health Initiative has also expanded access to oral healthcare by enrolling over 800 families in the same income bracket, and increased delivery of preventive services through care coordination. Through a pilot program, 7,266 low-income individuals used an online screening project to learn that they were eligible for public health insurance.