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Publications on Immigrants

This brief presents highlights from rigorous, independent evaluations of the Healthy Kids programs in three California counties: Los Angeles, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. Launched by Children’s Health Initiatives (CHIs) in these counties between 2001 and 2003, the three Healthy Kids programs provide children with comprehensive health insurance coverage, including a broad range of medical, dental, and vision care; prescription drugs; and mental health services. Children are eligible for Healthy Kids if they are ineligible for California’s two major state insurance programs, Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, and live in families with incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) in Los Angeles and Santa Clara counties, and 400 percent of the FPL in San Mateo County. Most of the children enrolled in Healthy Kids have family incomes at or below the poverty level. This brief describes some of the many positive impacts that Healthy Kids programs have had on children’s access and use of dental services. For more information on these and other findings on the three programs, see http://www.urban.org and http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/health/chi.asp.

A second series of focus groups with parents of children enrolled in the Los Angeles Healthy Kids program found that opinions of the program remain favorable despite its recent fiscal challenges. Healthy Kids had provided comprehensive, affordable coverage to nearly 45,000 poor children from birth through age 18 until mid-2005, but funding shortfalls led the program to cap enrollment for older children and enrollment levels for all children subsequently slipped. Still, the program remains highly valued by parents for providing high quality, comprehensive coverage and parents report good access to linguistically appropriate care and affordable out-of-pocket costs.

The Los Angeles Healthy Kids program, during its first four years, extended comprehensive, affordable coverage to over 40,000 poor and vulnerable children, and improved their access to and use of care. Yet, the program also faced serious challenges, primarily related to financing. Funding for children ages 6 through 18 ran short in spring 2005 and Healthy Kids capped their enrollment. State health reform efforts that could have stabilized funding for the program have failed. Based on interviews with over 40 stakeholders, this case study analyzes the complex challenges that the Los Angeles Healthy Kids program faces at this critical juncture.

This report discusses the contribution of immigrants to Maryland's workforce, trends in the workforce between 2000 and 2006, and recommendations for educating and training immigrant workers. Rapid growth in the number and share of immigrant workers in the state do not appear to have come at the expense of native-born workers, who saw their labor force participation grow over this six year period. Maryland's immigrant workers are unusually diverse, highly educated and work in key skilled industries such as healthcare, information technology and the sciences.

In early 2003 San Mateo County, California launched the Children's Health Initiative (CHI), to ensure that all children have access to comprehensive health insurance coverage. Healthy Kids covers uninsured children below 400 percent of poverty and primarily serves poor, undocumented Latino children. A survey of parents of Healthy Kids enrollees found that in the first year of enrollment, children experienced improvements in access to and use of medical and dental care; a reduction in missed school days due to health problems; reduced unmet need; increased parent confidence in getting care and satisfaction with quality; and reduced financial worries. Moreover, use of preventive and dental services continued to improve during the children's second and third years of continuous enrollment.