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Help Us Keep Building Better Futures for Kids & Families 

This time last week, Giving Tuesday emails were flooding your inbox, but should we limit giving to only one Tuesday a year?

Here at PPC, we use research, data, and our strength as an independent, nonpartisan nonprofit to advocate for an equitable future for every child living in Pennsylvania so that they can thrive and reach their full potential. We are building better futures.

Our recent wrap-up of the 2022-23 legislative session is a time for us to reflect and be proud of our accomplishments over the past two years. A sample of these wins include:

• An additional $109 million for high-quality pre-k over the past two budget cycles so that more 3- and 4-year-olds have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to set them on a path for future educational success.
• An increase of $24 million for evidence-based home visiting for pregnant women, young children, and their families. These programs mentor parents and others raising children and provide supports to address substance use disorders, develop school readiness, improve maternal and child health, promote economic self-sufficiency, and reduce abuse and neglect.
• The passage of HB 1866 (Act 118 of 2022), which will improve permanency practices for older youth in the foster care system transitioning to adulthood.

However, we couldn't achieve these wins without future supporters like you!

Please help us continue to be a voice for children by making a gift today.

As a wholly independent, nonpartisan child advocacy organization, we count on you to sustain us, and we hope you will support PPC with a year-end gift today. Together, we can continue building better futures for Pennsylvania's children and families. 

U.S. House Passes MIECHV Reauthorization Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act of 2022 (HR 8876) last week by a vote of 390 to 26, with all Pennsylvania House members voting in favor of the legislation. This bipartisan bill includes many of the policy recommendations we have been advocating for, including:

• Reauthorizing MIECHV for 5 years
• Increasing base funding by $100 million starting in federal fiscal year 2023
• Phasing in additional federal matching funds beginning in 2024
• Dedicated funding for workforce support and retention as well as research and evaluation

As program and funding authorization will expire on December 16th, the passage of a standalone MIECHV reauthorization bill is an important step in ensuring Pennsylvania families can receive uninterrupted and enhanced home visiting services. PPC and our partners in the Childhood Begins at Home campaign have advocated for the Senate to include MIECHV reauthorization in an omnibus year-end spending package. Please join us in emailing Senators Casey and Toomey to prioritize reauthorization and increased funding for MIECHV as they negotiate next year's budget.

Pennsylvania CHIP Celebrates 30 years of Covering Kids

On December 2^nd, the Pennsylvania Children's Health Insurance Program marked its 30th anniversary. In 1992. PPC worked with a coalition of partners to help pass state law implementing CHIP, which was signed into law by then Governor Bob Casey, Sr.

CHIP began to help fill a gap for families who couldn't afford private health insurance yet didn't qualify for Medicaid. Over the last three decades, CHIP has connected Pennsylvania kids to free or affordable, comprehensive health insurance and made a clear impact on reducing the child uninsured rate. Through private insurance companies contracting with the state, CHIP allows children access to regular doctor visits, well visits, dental, vision and hearing services, prescriptions, and mental health benefits.

Also noteworthy is Pennsylvania's program framed the national model in 1997. The federal government and states jointly finance CHIP.

In 2006, PPC again took a leadership role in a statewide coalition that successfully advocated for a new law, Cover All Kids, to broaden health care coverage through Pennsylvania CHIP. As a result, Pennsylvania offers a CHIP buy-in program—only 1 of 4 states to do so—which allows families with higher incomes who don't qualify for financial assistance to purchase a CHIP health insurance plan through the state at cost.

Big changes are on the horizon for CHIP. These include an IT system change that will shift how families enroll by using DHS County Assistance Offices, and the end of the public health emergency, in which tens of thousands of children will transition to the program from Medicaid. PPC will work to ensure children remain connected to health insurance, particularly as Pennsylvania's uninsured rate for children is starting to improve again.

Read a recent editorial about CHIP.

Data Did You Know?

*Source: DHS CHIP Office, October 2022 

In Case You Missed It...

• Governor-elect Shapiro has announced his transition team. The Transition Leadership Board is chaired by William Sasso, the Chairman Emeritus of Stradley Ronon, who previously held leadership positions in both the Wolf and Corbett Administrations.
• PA's WIC Bureau offers WIC participation data in two new formats available for public access. The first report is an age breakdown of children participating in WIC by county, and the second report shows WIC participation in each county by race and ethnicity. Additional participation reports are available—WIC updates the information monthly.
• Newly released PSSA testing scores show students still rebounding from the impact of COVID-19 and have yet to reach pre-pandemic outcomes. Keystone exam outcomes were also released, and school participation rates are on the Future Ready PA Index.
• The National Institute of Early Education Research report, The State(s) of Head Start and Early Head Start: Looking at Equity, examines equitable access to Head Start for children in each state during the 2020-21 program year. It also examines whether the COVID-19 pandemic impacted Head Start and Early Head Start enrollment. State-specific profiles will accompany the report soon.