• The Policy Spot
• Mental Health Full-Proposal Deadline Approaching
• Living on the Edge
• Report Shows Increase in Safety Net Services as a Result of 2005 Medicaid Cuts
• Grantee Spotlight: Sunflower House

The Policy Spot

The HCF website has a new feature. The Policy Spot is designed to be a resource on policy matters in both Missouri and Kansas. The main feature of the website is the new Policy Spot blog. The blog will be updated weekly and features guest authors ranging from elected officials, to advocates to providers to consumers. Other features include:

• Daily policy news updates
• An upcoming events calendar
• Link that allows individuals to find their legislators
• Links to research and analysis
• Advocacy tools and tips
• Legislative update that recaps the week in both Kansas and Missouri.

Mental Health Full-Proposal Deadline Approaching

Full proposals for Mental Health grants are due on April 29. Last month, HCF received a total of 104 Letters of Intent, totaling over $18 million in requests. If you have completed a Letter of Intent, you may access the full proposal application by clicking on this link.

Living on the Edge

Back by popular demand, HCF has added an additional date for Living on the Edge, a community action poverty simulation. The simulation will be May 12 from 9 – 11:30 a.m. at Pioneer Community College Auditorium. This simulation will dramatically demonstrate how much time and energy many families have to give just to survive day-by-day in poverty. The hour-long simulation will be followed by a facilitated discussion about public-policy initiatives and what our communities can do to address poverty and improve the health of our residents. Register.

Report Shows Increase in Safety Net Services as a Result of 2005 Medicaid Cuts

Missouri’s safety net health care providers are seeing increased numbers of uninsured patients and are incurring new financial strains as a result of the changes to Missouri’s Medicaid system in 2005. A new report was released last week by HCF and the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) in cooperation with the Missouri Hospital Association and the Missouri Primary Care Association. The reports also demonstrates how these safety net providers – Missouri’s hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) – pass on to those with private insurance their increasing cost of providing care to the uninsured.

Grantee Spotlight: Sunflower House

Each day, four children die in the United States as a result of child abuse. And the numbers are continuing to rise. Child abuse occurs at every socio-economic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.

In Wyandotte and Johnson counties, child abuse reports continue to demonstrate serious cause for concern. Last year, more than 8,000 reports of child abuse and neglect were made to Social and Rehabilitation Services in Johnson and Wyandotte counties.

With a $101,958 HCF mental health grant, Sunflower House’s Child Assessment Program provides a safe, child-friendly place for children, ages 0-17, alleging sexual or physical abuse to tell the most intimate details of their abuse to trained professionals. This effort is coordinated with more than 30 local law enforcement and state child protection agencies to ease the trauma to children reporting abuse.

Read more.