What. Communities for Healthy Kids (CHK) is an exciting new undertaking by the Institute for Local Government. It is a three-year effort to develop innovative strategies for cities and counties to identify and enroll kids who are eligible for no and low cost health insurance. CHK began in January 2007 and is funded by the WellPoint Foundation.

Why. In 2005, between 500,000 and 600,000 children were eligible for no or low-cost health insurance through Medi-Cal, the Healthy Families Program, or through one of the Children’s Health Initiatives (CHIs), offered in 30 counties, and were not insured. Eligible children for all of these programs are from low income families – generally considered the working poor – who are not eligible for, and do not want to go on, welfare. The goal of CHK is to increase the number of eligible children who participate in these programs.

Who. CHK is a program of the Institute for Local Government and is a joint effort between Institute, the League of California Cities, the California Teachers Association , the California Association of Health Plans, the City-County-Schools Partnership, and Teachers for Healthy Kids, along with other state and local collaborating partners. The Institute is the nonprofit research arm of the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties.