1. Hawaii Covering Kids State Coalition Meeting #10 on 8 November 2001 Our focus is the new Medicaid and TANF delinking as well as learning more about helping families after their welfare benefits end. For more details, please go to: Hawaii Covering Kids calendar. 2. New Report on Health Insurance for Children Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives The Children's Defense Fund has released a 50-state survey of Medicaid and CHIP enrollment policies for children being raised by kinship caregivers. More than two million children in the U.S. are raised by grandparents and other relatives with no parents present in the home. While all states allow kinship caregivers to apply for Medicaid and the CHIP for the children they are raising, too often these caregivers may not know they can apply or they face barriers when they do apply. "Healthy Ties: Ensuring Health Coverage for Children Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives" describes states' policies, identifies barriers facing kinship caregivers as they try to obtain health insurance for their children, and highlights strategies being used to increase enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP for these children. It suggests six steps that state agencies and advocates can take together to increase access to health insurance for children living with kinship caregivers. Individual state snapshots provide specifics of state policies and outline ideas for expanding outreach to kinship care families. A companion brochure is also available, which answers kinship caregivers' most basic questions about enrolling children they are raising in Medicaid and CHIP. To receive a copy of the "Healthy Ties" report and/or the "Healthy Ties" companion piece, email healthyties@childrensdefense.org or call 202.662.3568. Single copies are free but there will be a fee for postage, shipping, and handling for multiple copies. 3. New Fall "Sign Them Up!" Newsletter Online The Children's Defense Fund has released the fall edition of the "Sign Them Up" newsletter. This edition focuses on steps states have taken to simplify their Medicaid and CHIP programs featuring efforts made in Wisconsin, Texas, and Arizona. Also included is national news and a summary of how the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit affect low and moderate-income families. Access the newsletter online at Archive: Sign Them Up! Newsletters. 4. Better Lead Screening for Children in Medicaid The Alliance For Healthy Homes (AFHH) published a guide for Medicaid agencies to better facilitate lead screening for children enrolled in Medicaid. The guide helps Medicaid agencies track and monitor lead screening of children and respond to health care providers who screen children for lead exposure. Because young children in Medicaid are more likely than other children to be exposed to lead, Medicaid agencies can play a significant role in improving lead screening and lead poisoning prevention. AFHHP has suggested these three steps for Medicaid agencies to improve lead screening: tracking, monitoring, and responding. To access the guide "Track, Monitor, and Respond: Three Keys to Better Lead Screening for Children in Medicaid," go to http://www.afhh.org and click on "Hot Topics."