1. Covering Kids Redesigned Web Site The Covering Kids National Program Office announced the rollout of its newly redesigned web site at http://coveringkidsandfamilies.org. Check it out! 2. Florida: KidCare Data Toolkit Helps Identify Potentially Eligible Children The Florida Covering Kids grantee, The Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies, created a Florida KidCare Data Toolkit to be used by outreach workers to target areas with a high number of families with potentially eligible, uninsured children. The toolkit contains data on census numbers (race, ethnicity and economic indicators like housing, and schools), the number of children enrolled in free/reduced lunch programs, those with limited English-speaking proficiency and other relevant population data. Florida conducted a statewide training to teach outreach workers how to use the data in the toolkit and how to effectively use the information and data. The toolkit data are available to help locate minority populations and to use during the back-to-school campaign, when outreach efforts are aimed at preregistration for kindergarten, public health immunization drives and more. 3. HCFA Changes Its Name to CMS On 14 June, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced that DHHS was renaming the agency that administers the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The agency formerly known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) will henceforth be know as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Thompson said the name change reflects a "new culture of responsiveness" at the agency, with a focus on improving beneficiary services and information. He also announced that the agency would be reorganized into three centers of service: the Center for Medicare Management (dealing with the traditional Medicare fee-for-service program and its providers); the Center for Beneficiary Choices (governing Medicare+Choice and providing beneficiaries with information for making choices); and the Center for Medicaid and State Operations (handling programs administered by the states such as Medicaid, CHIP, and insurance regulation). Thompson noted that other reforms will follow. To read a press release about the new CMS, go to http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2001pres/20010614.html. To read a fact sheet about the changes, go to http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2001pres/20010614a.html. 4. Access to Care for Children of Working Poor Compared with children of nonworking poor parents and moderate to affluent children, more working poor children lacked health insurance, experienced disruptions in insurance coverage, and experienced delays in care and unmet care needs, according to an analysis of 1997 data. For children of the working poor, parental employment does not provide adequate access to employment-based coverage, but reduces the likelihood of eligibility for Medicaid. According to researcher Sylvia Guendelman, "lack of insurance and continuity in coverage among children of the working poor contributed to a larger proportion of these youngsters having to delay or miss care because they could not afford it, compared to the reference child populations." http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/155/6/651 5. Soccer Outreach in Nebraska Gets the Ball Rolling The Western Community Health Resources Pilot used a fall soccer sign-up to provide area kids and parents with information about Nebraska Kids Connection. Sign-ups for this popular, fall sport were held in different locations in each town, including soccer fields and medical clinics. Soccer league coordinators were contacted to arrange distribution of Kids Connection applications and water bottles to each child signing up for the soccer season. The very popular water bottles, with applications attached, were emblazoned with the program name and a contact number. Families were encouraged to complete the application and return it to their local or state Health and Human Services office. For more information, please contact Sherri Blome, Western Community Health Resources, 800-717-1231, extension 1, respitewest@bbc.net.