1990
·
The
Southern Institute on Children and Families is founded as a non-profit
organization dedicated to improving opportunities for lower-income children
and families in the South with a focus on disadvantaged children.
·
The
Southern Institute adopts 17 states and the District of Columbia as its
region of focus. The states include Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West
Virginia.
1991
·
The
Southern Institute releases a report titled Major Indicators Impacting
Children and Families in the South as Compared to Other Regions of the
United States at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.
1992
·
The
Southern Institute publishes the first edition of Uninsured Children in
the South, which contains state-by-state data on uninsured children and
opportunities for Medicaid coverage, as well as policy and procedural
barriers that impede access to Medicaid coverage.
1993
·
The Southern Institute and the National Library of Medicine (NLM) sponsor dialogue sessions in six states to present and discuss the availability of up-to-date biomedical literature for hospitals, health clinics, physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals in rural areas through an online NLM computer software package called Grateful Med.
·
As a result of the state dialogue sessions the Southern Institute publishes Creating Opportunities in the South to Link Maternal and Child Health Professionals and the National Library of Medicine, which identifies outreach strategies for establishing effective linkages with health professionals, health organizations and health policymakers.
1994
·
The
Southern Institute publishes a landmark report titled A Study of the
Relationship of Health Coverage to Welfare Dependency documenting for
the first time the extent to which lower-income families were unaware of
benefits available for their children without being on welfare.
1995
·
The
Southern Institute, in collaboration with the North Carolina Department of
Human Resources, conducts 27 focus groups to assist in the development and
testing of the nation’s first information outreach brochures to inform
families, community organizations and employers about available benefits for
lower-income working families.
·
North
Carolina distributes three information outreach brochures statewide:
o
Leaving
Welfare for Work Isn’t As Scary As it Seems
o
Have
You Heard About Benefits for Working Families???
o
Facts
for Employers
1996
·
The
Southern Institute publishes the second edition of Uninsured Children in
the South, which contains state-by-state data on uninsured children and
opportunities for Medicaid coverage, as well as policy and procedural
barriers that impede access to Medicaid coverage.
·
The
Southern Institute begins an information outreach project with the Georgia
Division of Family and Children Services to conduct nine focus groups with
families, community organizations and employers to assist in the adaptation
of the North Carolina information outreach brochures for use in Georgia. The
brochures contain state specific eligibility information and state
information line telephone numbers.
1997
·
Florida
and Tennessee commission the Southern Institute to replicate the information
outreach brochures developed for North Carolina and Georgia with state-specific information.
·
The
Southern Institute conducts site visits to 17 southern states and the
District of Columbia to hold joint meetings with state officials responsible
for Medicaid, welfare, Food Stamps and child care. The meetings include
identification of barriers and opportunities for improving access to
benefits including outreach and eligibility simplification. The Southern
Institute also meets with state officials to promote replication of the
information outreach brochures in the remaining 12 southern states.
·
The
Southern Institute holds the Southern Regional Forum on Improving Access to
Benefits for Families with Children. The forum was attended by
representatives from 17 southern states and the District of Columbia,
federal officials and advocates.
·
The
Southern Institute publishes the Southern Regional Initiative to Improve
Access to Benefits for Low-Income Families with Children.
·
The
Southern Institute is named the National Program Office for Covering
Kids: A National Health Access Initiative for Low-Income, Uninsured
Children, with responsibility for the grant application process and
overall leadership and direction.
1998
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Covering Kids national
program.
·
Covering Kids
expands to a $47 million nationwide program with funding for statewide
coalitions in 49 states and the District of Columbia and more than 160 local
communities.
·
The Southern Institute's
information brochures are replicated in 12 additional states: Alabama,
Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma,
South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
·
The Southern Institute
publishes The Burden of Proof: How Much is Too Much for Child Health
Coverage?, which provides federal responses to specific questions on
federal policies related to verification of information submitted by
Medicaid applicants. The report shows that most verification decisions
reside with state administrators and policymakers.
·
The
Southern Institute begins preparing Spanish versions of its two consumer
information outreach brochures. Because they do not contain any state
specific eligibility information, the completed Spanish brochures are
suitable for use in any state. The Spanish brochures are made available on
disk to southern states, which will be responsible for printing and
dissemination.
1999
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Covering Kids national
program
·
The
Southern Institute is named National Program Office for Supporting
Families After Welfare Reform: Access to Medicaid, SCHIP and Food Stamps,
with responsibility for the grant application process and overall
leadership and direction. Grants are awarded in Alabama, Connecticut,
Delaware, Georgia, Minnesota, Maine, New Jersey, South Carolina and Cuyahoga
County in Ohio.
·
Louisiana
replicates the SICF information outreach brochures for statewide use making
the information outreach brochures available in all 17 southern states and
the District of Columbia.
·
The
Southern Institute publishes Mayersville, Mississippi: A Study of
Improving Access to Benefits and Services for Low-Income Families in the
Rural South, which points out the special need for resources and
technical assistance in rural areas in order to assist them in supporting
lower-income families striving to work.
2000
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Covering Kids national
program. An additional state is funded bringing the total number of
Covering Kids grants to 50 state projects and the District of
Columbia.
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Supporting Families After
Welfare Reform national program.
·
The
Southern Institute establishes the Southern Regional Initiative on Child
Care and the Southern Regional Task Force on Child Care. The Task Force is
composed of members appointed by governors in 16 southern states and the
Mayor of the District of Columbia and additional representatives appointed
by SICF and the Southern Growth Policies Board.
·
The
Southern Institute publishes Sound Investments: Financial Support for
Child Care Builds Workforce Capacity and Promotes School Readiness and
the Action Plan to Improve Access to Child Care Assistance for Low-Income
Families in the South developed by the Task Force.
2001
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Covering Kids and
Supporting Families After Welfare Reform national programs.
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Southern Regional
Initiative on Child Care.
·
The
Southern Institute is named National Program Office for Covering Kids &
Families, the next phase of the Covering Kids Initiative, with
responsibility for the grant application process and overall leadership and
direction.
·
The
Southern Institute holds the First Annual Southern Regional Forum on Child
Care.
2002
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Covering Kids, Covering Kids &
Families and Supporting Families After Welfare Reform national
programs.
·
Three
additional projects receive funding to participate in the Supporting
Families After Welfare Reform program in Nassau County in New York and
San Bernardino County and Los Angeles County in California.
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Southern Regional Initiative on
Child Care.
·
The
Southern Institute publishes the Southern Regional Action Plan to Improve
the Quality of Early Care and Education developed by the Southern
Regional Task Force on Child Care.
·
The
Southern Institute establishes the Southern Business Leadership Council
(SBLC) to help bring visibility and achieve action that will mutually
benefit families, employers and communities.
·
The
Southern Institute publishes the 2002 Chartbook of Major Indicators:
Conditions Placing Children in the South at Risk.
·
The
Southern Institute publishes the first status report on state implementation
efforts to enact the Action Plan to Improve Access to Child Care Assistance for
Low-Income Families in the South.
2003
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Covering Kids & Families
and Supporting Families After Welfare Reform national programs.
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Southern Regional Initiative on
Child Care.
·
The
Southern Institute holds the Southern Regional Forum on Collaboration and
Coordination Across Early Care and Education Programs.
·
The
Southern Institute publishes a second status report on state implementation
efforts to enact the Action Plan to Improve Access to Child Care
Assistance for Low-Income Families in the South.
·
The
Southern Institute creates the Process Improvement Center.
·
The
Southern Institute publishes A Profile of the Southern Economy: Living
Standards, Economic Structure, and Lower-Income Workers to assist the
Southern Business Leadership Council in examining workforce, income and
benefit issues affecting lower-income working individuals and families.
·
The
Southern Institute publishes The Supporting Families Story: The Movement
Toward Quality Improvement outlining accomplishments of the
Supporting Families initiative, with a focus on the process improvement
breakthrough collaborative involving state and local eligibility officials
from project states.
·
The
Southern Institute publishes two reports on collaboration across early care
and education programs as part of the Southern Regional Initiative on Child
Care:
o
Collaboration
in Southern Regional Early Care and Education Systems; and
o
Southern Regional Forum on Collaboration and Coordination Across Early Care
and Education Programs
·
The
Southern Institute publishes the second edition of The Burden of Proof:
How Much is Too Much for Health Care Coverage?,
which provides federal responses to specific questions on federal
policies related to verification of information submitted by Medicaid
applicants. The report shows that most verification decisions reside with
state administrators and policymakers.
·
The
Southern Institute unveils a new visual identity.
2004
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Covering Kids & Families
and Supporting Families After Welfare Reform national programs.
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Southern Regional Initiative on
Child Care.
·
The
Southern Institute initiates the Carolina Nutrition Alliance project to
improve participation in the Food Stamp Program in South Carolina with a
process improvement initiative at three DSS county offices and a faith
outreach partnership in two of the project counties.
·
The
Southern Institute releases the third edition of
the Chartbook of Major Indicators: Conditions Placing Children in
the South at Risk at a news conference in Atlanta.
·
The
Southern Institute publishes the third status report on state implementation
efforts to enact the Action Plan to Improve Access to Child Care
Assistance for Low-Income Families in the South.
·
The
Southern Institute publishes the first report on the status of state
implementation efforts to enact the Southern Regional Action Plan to
Improve the Quality of Early Care and Education.
·
The
Southern Institute names former United States Secretary of Education, former
South Carolina Governor and SICF Board Member Richard W. Riley as Chairman
of the Southern Business Leadership Council (SBLC).
·
The
Southern Institute publishes Child Care Survey Results on Funding and
Related Policies in the Southern States.
·
The
Southern Institute publishes the final project report of the Southern
Regional Initiative on Child Care.
2005
·
This year
marks the 15th anniversary of the Southern Institute’s founding.
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Carolina Nutrition Alliance in
three South Carolina Counties.
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Covering Kids & Families
national program.
·
The
Southern Institute tracks the status of state implementation efforts to
enact the Southern Regional Action Plan to Improve the Quality of Early
Care and Education for the second year. State-by-state survey
responses and a summary chart comparing actions taken across states are
posted on the Southern Institute Web site.
·
The
Southern Institute initiates Southern Business Leadership Council (SBLC)
development of the SBLC Employment Stability Action Plan, which will
include public policy action steps and promising practices that can be
implemented in states and communities across the South to mutually benefit
families, employers and communities.
·
The
Southern Institute’s Process Improvement Center initiates a Process
Improvement Collaborative involving six children’s hospitals from five
states.
·
The
Southern Institute receives international recognition for collecting and
displaying regional data indicators and achieving results as part of the
Southern Regional Initiative on Child Care and Early Education. The Southern
Institute’s use of data indicators on a regional level was published in a
book, titled
Indicators of Children's Well-Being:
Understanding Their
Role, Usage and Policy Influence.
·
The
Southern Institute initiates and completes the South Carolina Obesity
Assessment Project to identify international, national and state obesity
related data and examples of promising programs and practices that will be
instrumental in development of a strategic action plan to decrease the
incidence of overweight and/or obese children and adolescents in South
Carolina.
·
The
Southern Institute receives a grant from the Henry J. Kaiser Family
Foundation to publish the third edition of Uninsured Children in the
South. The report will include data and analysis on both Medicaid and
the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which was enacted in 1997.
It also will contain data on the number of women who were uninsured at the
time they gave birth. The Southern Institute will conclude the report with
recommendations on actions states can take to simplify public health
coverage programs to allow eligible, uninsured children and pregnant women
to access and retain coverage.
2006
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Carolina Nutrition Alliance in
four South Carolina Counties.
·
The
Southern Institute continues to direct the Covering Kids & Families
national program.
·
The
Southern Institute’s Process Improvement Center:
o
continues
to direct an Eligibility Process Improvement Collaborative involving six
children’s hospitals from five states;
o
assists
Select Health of South Carolina, Inc. in analyzing information related to
Medicaid eligibility renewal processes to identify barriers to effectiveness
and make recommendations to Select Health on how to improve First Choice
consumer retention;
o
receives
funding to conduct an Eligibility Process Improvement Collaborative in
Louisiana, which is focused on reducing processing times to better serve
Louisiana citizens who request eligibility services; and
o
receives a
grant from the California HealthCare Foundation to direct an Eligibility
Process Improvement Collaborative with 14 California counties to assist them
in improving access to and retention of public health coverage for eligible
children, adults and families.
·
The
Southern Institute continues work on the third edition of Uninsured
Children in the South.
·
The World
Health Organization, the United Nations' specialized agency for health,
recognized Covering Kids & Families, a national program directed by
the Southern Institute, in its "Voices from the
Frontline" Web feature series in April 2006. The World Health Organization
plans to profile 15 to 20 programs in countries around the world by the end
of 2007, and the Covering Kids & Families feature is the only Web
profile from the United States.
·
The
Southern Institute's Southern Business Leadership Council completed the
first local employer initiative in the District of Columbia Metro Area to
gain front-line information on employer views regarding issues that affect
the ability of lower-wage workers, especially parents, to be stable
employees. Two additional local employer initiatives will be held in
Charlotte, North Carolina and in the Upstate region of South Carolina. This
and other research will be used to develop the Southern Business
Leadership Council Employment Stability Action Plan.