December 2007 - The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has published a brief that looks at the experience that some state Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) agencies have had in using a process change model developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and adapted by the Southern Institute on Children and Families, to strengthen the way they approach enrollment and retention administrative processes. Improving Processes and Increasing Efficiency: The Case for States Participating in a Process Improvement Collaborative explores whether state governments can use this model to improve Medicaid and SCHIP eligibility and enrollment processes and also whether a process improvement collaborative is a worthwhile investment for states. The brief concludes that if properly implemented, states have little to lose financially and much to gain in terms of increased efficiency and savings, from using the process improvement collaborative model. Please visit the link above to access the complete brief.

Southern Institute Releases Third Edition of Uninsured Children in the South

November 2007 - The Southern Institute is pleased to release the third edition of Uninsured Children in the South. The report provides state-by-state data on estimates of uninsured children with age and income breakouts related to Medicaid and SCHIP for Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. In addition, the third edition contains data on women who were uninsured during pregnancy and at the time they gave birth. The Southern Institute also outlines recommendations on actions states can take to simplify public health coverage programs to allow eligible, uninsured children and pregnant women to access and retain public health coverage.

Southern Institute Policy and Research Director Named Panelist for Documentary Screening

November 2007 - The Southern Institute on Children and Families is pleased to announce that Kathryn Luchok, PhD, MA, Director of the Policy and Research Center, has been named as a panelist for the Columbia, SC screening of the documentary, "The Business of Being Born." Dr. Luchok, an expert in the field of maternal and child health, will participate in the panel discussion with local midwives and other childbirth advocates following the screening.

"The Business of Being Born" is a documentary that follows clients of New York midwife Cara Muhlhahn as they consider their birth choices. The film includes interviews with well-known advocates for physiological birth including: Dr. Michel Odent, an OB/GYN and author of The Caesarean; Susan Hodges, President of Citizens for Midwifery; and Dr. Robbie Davis-Floyd, PhD in Medical Anthropology and author of Birth as an American Rite of Passage.

The Midlands Chapter of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) with support from the University of South Carolina (USC) Women's Studies Department is hosting the screening on Friday, Dec. 7, at 7:00 p.m., in USC's Gambrell Auditorium. Tickets cost $10 at the door or $8 online at http://icanmidlands.eventbrite.com/ with $5 advance tickets available for students.

Southern Institute Releases Southern Business Leadership Council Charlotte Metro Area Employer Initiative Project Report

September 2007 - A report on findings from the Southern Business Leadership Council (SBLC) Charlotte Employer Initiative has been published by the Southern Institute on Children and Families. The SBLC Charlotte Metro Area Employer Initiative Project Report describes employer perspectives on issues related to lower-wage employment stability gathered through interviews conducted with Charlotte area employers and provides summary information on employer views collected during an Employer Dialogue Session held in Charlotte in March 2007.

The SBLC Charlotte Employer Initiative is the second of three local employer projects conducted by the Southern Institute as part of the SBLC Employment Stability Action Plan initiative. The SBLC is leading an effort to develop and promote the SBLC Employment Stability Action Plan, which will identify public sector actions, private sector actions and public/private partnerships needed to address barriers to stable employment in the lower-wage workforce, particularly barriers faced by parents. It also will feature summaries of public and private sector promising practices that can be replicated in states and communities across the South and nation with contacts for information on design and implementation. For additional information on the SBLC please visit http://www.thesoutherninstitute.org/SBLC.aspx.

Southern Institute Announces Eight States Selected for Retention Initiative

August 2007 - The Southern Institute on Children and Families is pleased to announce the selection of the following eight states to participate in the Retention Initiative: Achieving Stability in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP): Alabama, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. The number and quality of applications received were impressive, making it difficult to limit the number of states to eight. Please visit the Current Initiatives section of the Southern Institute’s Web site to learn more about the Retention Initiative.

Southern Institute Releases Southern Business Leadership Council Upstate South Carolina Employer Initiative Project Report

August 2007 - A report on findings from the Southern Business Leadership Council (SBLC) Upstate South Carolina Employer Initiative has been published by the Southern Institute on Children and Families. The SBLC Upstate South Carolina Employer Initiative Project Report describes employer perspectives on issues related to lower-wage employment stability gathered through interviews conducted with employers from the Upstate region of South Carolina and provides summary information on employer views collected during an Employer Dialogue Session held in Greenville in May 2007.

The SBLC Upstate South Carolina Employer Initiative is the third of three local employer projects conducted by the Southern Institute as part of the SBLC Employment Stability Action Plan initiative. The SBLC is leading an effort to develop and promote the SBLC Employment Stability Action Plan, which will identify public sector actions, private sector actions and public/private partnerships needed to address barriers to stable employment in the lower-wage workforce, particularly barriers faced by parents. It also will feature summaries of public and private sector promising practices that can be replicated in states and communities across the South and nation with contacts for information on design and implementation. For additional information on the SBLC please visit http://www.thesoutherninstitute.org/SBLC.aspx.

The Southern Institute Announces Four New Members of the Southern Business Leadership Council

July 2007 – Four new members have been added to the Southern Institute’s Southern Business Leadership Council (SBLC), a group of southern-based business, community and public policy leaders engaged in the development of comprehensive solutions to societal issues that impede stable employment of the lower-wage workforce.

Ingo Angermeier, FACHE, is President/CEO of the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System (Spartanburg, SC).
Natalie J. Brown is Senior Vice President and Market Development Manager for Bank of America (Charlotte, NC).
C. Jeff Cook is Senior Vice President of Personal Investment Management for the Capital Guardian Trust Company (Atlanta, GA).
Sarah C. Shuptrine is Founder of the Southern Institute on Children and Families (Columbia, SC).

Angermeier, Brown, Cook and Shuptrine join the SBLC in its current work to develop the Southern Business Leadership Council Employment Stability Action Plan, which will identify local, state, federal and private sector policy issues that impede employment stability and outline promising practices that can be replicated in states and communities across the South to improve employment stability in the lower-wage workforce. Visit the SBLC page located under Current Initiatives to learn more.

Southern Institute Releases Report on Out-stationing Public Health Coverage Enrollment

July 2007 - The Southern Institute on Children and Families is pleased to release a new report, titled Offering Public Health Coverage Enrollment in Health Care Settings. The report is designed to assist in implementing or improving out-stationed eligibility determination processes for Medicaid, State Children’s Health Insurance Program or other public health coverage programs at health care sites. Outreach and application assistance activities such as out-stationing have been found to be critical components of enrolling eligible children and adults in public health coverage programs.

Offering Public Health Coverage Enrollment in Health Care Settings was prepared as part of the Covering Kids & Families initiative, a national program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and directed by the Southern Institute on Children and Families.