Publications
Mayersville, Mississippi: A Study on Improving
Access to Benefits and Services for Low-Income Families in the
Rural South
Prepared by Sarah C. Shuptrine
Southern Institute on Children and Families
June 1999
Introduction
Children and families in economically depressed
rural communities should be a top priority
for policymakers who feel strongly that every
child should have an opportunity to succeed
in life. In the fall of 1998, the Southern
Institute on Children and Families set out
on a journey to learn more about the challenges
rural families face when distances are far
and resources are limited.
Unita Blackwell, Mayor of Mayersville, Mississippi,
and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the
Southern Institute on Children and Families,
hosted two site visits to Mayersville. The
Town of Mayersville has a population of approximately
500 and is located in Issaquena County in the
heart of the Mississippi Delta. Issaquena County
is among the poorest counties in Mississippi.
The first site visit was held in November
1998 and the second was held in June 1999.
The purpose of the first site visit was to
gain a better understanding of the issues that
face rural families with regard to their access
to child health coverage, child health care,
child care and transportation. The purpose
of the second site visit was to discuss follow-up
activities since the initial visit and to define
how best to address the identified issues.
Information was both shared and gained during
the two site visits to Mayersville. Mayor Blackwell
and Sarah Shuptrine, President of the Southern
Institute on Children and Families, convened
the site visit meetings. The visits were made
possible by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation.
The Southern Institute is indebted to the
residents of Mayersville who were willing to
share their concerns and aspirations and also
to the professionals who traveled to Mayersville
to be part of the dialogue and to participate
in the brainstorming of solutions. This report
summarizes the discussions, the follow-up activities
and the insight gained from the Mayersville
site visits.
Initial Site Visit
Four meetings were held during the Southern
Institute’s one-day visit to Mayersville
on November 10, 1998. The first meeting was
with parents and grandparents. The second meeting
included community leaders, health providers
and parents. Staff from the Mississippi Department
of Human Services (MDHS) and the regional Medicaid
office attended the third meeting, and the
fourth meeting was a Town Hall gathering in
the evening. Attending all meetings were Mayor
Blackwell, Marquetta Brown, Issaquena County
DHS Director, Fannie Sampson, Sharkey County
DHS Director, and Sarah Shuptrine.
Mayersville residents who attended the meetings
shared their concerns as well as their ideas,
and expressed their hope that some action would
occur as a result of the Southern Institute’s
visit. Their views outlined below reflect discouragement
as to their situation, but they are still hopeful
that state and federal action will be taken
to improve the well-being of children and families
in Mayersville.
Meeting with Parents and Grandparents
It was evident that the residents attending
the site visit meetings were interested in
their community and eager to participate in
discussions about the future of their children.
When asked to describe the greatest challenges
they faced in rearing children in Mayersville,
parents and grandparents identified fundamental
issues, any one of which would be a significant
barrier to the ability of families to meet
the needs of their children:
- Lack of jobs
- No local health care provider
- No child care services
- Lack of transportation
- No recreational facilities for children
A small hospital is located approximately
12 miles from Mayersville, but has limited
services. A small health center is located
approximately 15 miles away. Schools are located
in Sharkey County, over 10 miles from Mayersville.
Many parents have existed on welfare (cash
assistance). Several described previous efforts
to leave welfare. Their efforts to work were
thwarted by lack of child care and transportation
and by federal welfare policies that penalized
them if they managed to garner even meager
resources that would help them become employable.
For example, federal welfare policy (which
was eliminated as part of welfare reform in
1996) did not allow cash assistance families
to own a car worth more than $1,500 equity
value, and families could not have savings
or other liquid assets that exceeded $1,000.
Thus, it was not possible to accumulate savings
or to own a reliable car that could have been
their ticket to a better education and a job.
The 1996 federal welfare reform legislation
ended welfare as an ongoing assistance system.
Time limits now apply and thus the emphasis
is on moving families from welfare to work.
Welfare reform has created a sense of frustration
on the part of the young parents, primarily
because they do not feel they are receiving
the support necessary to sustain employment.
While they demonstrated a strong desire to
work, they described a set of circumstances
that made that goal elusive. The shortage of
jobs in Mayersville and the lack of child care
and transportation present overwhelming obstacles.
Several parents indicated that their desire
is to live and work in Mayersville, where there
is a sense of community. However, with no jobs,
child care or transportation, several stated
that it looked like they would have to leave
Mayersville, and they are concerned about what
that would mean for them and their children.
Despite frequent contact with the public system,
the parents and grandparents were inadequately
informed about public benefits that are available
to families who are not connected to the welfare
system. For example, most were not aware that
child health coverage is available to families
who are not on welfare and only a few were
aware of the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Asset/resource testing was a source of discouragement
for parents and grandparents. They were understandably
confused about the differing asset/resource
rules across programs, and they felt that policy
makers should understand that they need some
assets to become more "self-sufficient." Several
were under the impression that the children’s
Medicaid program applied an asset test, and
they were pleased to learn that the Mississippi
child-only Medicaid program does not have an
asset test. They also were frustrated that
they didn’t already know.
Misconceptions and lack of information about
the availability of benefits for working families
have been the focus of the information outreach
work conducted by the Southern Institute in
recent years. Not knowing about available benefits
means that, in addition to the lack of child
care and transportation, families are not tapping
into the child health coverage and wage supplementation
programs that can provide them with significant
economic assistance.
There were several areas where follow up was
needed to clarify issues and to determine if
help was available for the families of Mayersville.
These areas are outlined and discussed below.
Transportation
There is no general public transportation
system that serves the Mayersville area. The
lack of public transportation isolates Mayersville
residents, many of whom are unable to own and
operate a reliable automobile.
Lack of transportation affects the ability
of many residents to obtain and retain employment
and impedes access to health care and child
care. Health care and child care transportation
issues are discussed in those sections of this
report.
A reliable and responsive transportation system
to and from towns and cities where jobs are
available can go a long way toward improving
opportunities for families who live in Mayersville.
There are vans and buses in the area, but they
have restrictive ridership rules based on their
categorical funding source. For example, Mississippi
Department of Human Services (MDHS) provides
transportation vans for families in welfare
to work programs, but the vans are not available
to families who are not on welfare.
An additional transportation strategy, and
likely the most workable one for most families,
would be to foster ownership of an automobile.
This strategy, however, hits a major hurdle
when it comes to the Food Stamp eligibility
rules. During the discussion of transportation
issues, the Southern Institute became aware
of a federal Food Stamp policy that hinders
ownership of a personal automobile. The policy
is buried in the complicated federal asset/resource
test terminology that originates from statutory
provisions. Research into the asset limits
indicates that an automobile can be exempted
from the Food Stamp asset test under certain
circumstances, but it cannot be exempted if
used for daily commute to a job. Under federal
law, to be fully exempted the automobile would
have to meet the following criteria (see Appendix
A):
- Used over 50 percent of the time for income-producing
purposes.
- Annually producing income consistent with
the fair market value.
- Needed for long distance travel for work
(other than daily commute).
- Used as the home.
- Needed to transport a physically disabled
household member, or
- Needed to carry most of the household’s
fuel or water.
The federal Food Stamp policy of not allowing
a full exemption of the one automobile basically
means that low-income families living in isolated
communities like Mayersville are not eligible
for food assistance if they own a reliable
automobile which is a necessity for families
in rural areas.
The allowed value of the Food Stamp automobile
is $4,650 fair market value. Any amount above
that is counted as a resource against a $2,000
resource limit for families where no person
is age 60 or older. Considering the real life
circumstances of before dawn and after dark
long-distance rural travel required to get
to and from work, $4,650 is an unrealistically
low automobile value given the need for reliable
commuter transportation.
To the credit of welfare reform officials
in Mississippi, the automobile asset/resource
test for families on the Mississippi Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF/cash assistance)
program does not count the value of one vehicle.
This state policy was enacted in recognition
of the vital link the family car represents
for the successful transition from welfare
to work. A second vehicle is treated like the
automobile asset/resource test under the Food
Stamp program. State officials do not, however,
have the authority to change the federal Food
Stamp automobile resource limit in order to
achieve consistency with the Mississippi TANF
automobile policy. Changing the Food Stamp
asset/resource limits would require congressional
action.
With the advent of welfare reform and state
enactment of more progressive welfare policies
for family automobiles, the Food Stamp asset/resource
test is behind the times. Because the Food
Stamp automobile limit is now more restrictive
than the TANF automobile limit in Mississippi
and many other states, this means that families
leaving welfare for work who acquire a reliable
automobile in order to commute to and from
work are not able to obtain food assistance
because they no longer meet the Food Stamp
asset limit.
Clearly, an automobile asset limit negatively
affects the "make work pay" environment
that most states are striving to implement
as part of welfare reform. It also negatively
affects families who are not and have not been
on welfare and who need food assistance to
meet the needs of their children while working
in low-wage jobs.
Families earning low wages need to supplement
earnings with public programs that provide
benefits to working parents, such as Medicaid
for children, the Earned Income Tax Credit,
child care and Food Stamps. These benefits
can significantly help low-income families
to adequately provide for their children.
Child Care
The child care dilemma facing families in
Mayersville is a particularly compelling one.
In order to work, parents must have access
to reliable child care.
There is no full-day child care program in
Mayersville. No assessment has been made regarding
the feasibility of establishing a full-day
child care facility that could accommodate
children of working parents who require early
morning and evening child care due to long
distance commuting.
No efforts had been made to establish a family
day care home in Mayersville. The Head Start
Center located a few miles outside of Mayersville
operates only on a partial day basis.
Some relatives are able to provide child care,
but most are not. It was reported that many
of the nonworking adults are on Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) and are unable to care
for children.
For Mayersville families who want to leave
welfare and for families who want to avoid
welfare, it will be essential to establish
reliable child care resources that can support
parents who commute long distances and work
odd hours. The reality is that child care is
fundamental to the ability of parents to get
and keep jobs.
Child Health Coverage
Lack of information about child Medicaid coverage
can negatively affect the success of two major
public goals. The first is helping low-income
children to access health coverage and thus
improve their access to primary and preventive
health care. The second is helping families
leaving welfare to maintain health coverage
for their children.
Children without health coverage are less
likely to have a regular source of health care
and more likely to seek care in hospital emergency
rooms. Uninsured children are less likely to
seek care for injuries and to receive immunizations.
Families leaving welfare for work often are
discouraged by what they perceive are losses
in benefits, and they miss out on health coverage
opportunities because they do not know about
them. Knowledge that child health coverage
is not tied to welfare is heartening news for
parents and it encourages work.
In 1997-98, the Mississippi Department of
Human Services worked in cooperation with the
Southern Institute in developing a Mississippi
version of the Southern Institute information
outreach brochures. Technical assistance to
adapt the outreach brochures had been made
available by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation. The outreach brochures have been
shown to effectively communicate the availability
of health coverage and other benefits for working
families. It did not appear that the brochures
were being effectively utilized in Issaquena
County. Aggressive utilization of the outreach
brochures will help assure that families are
aware of benefits for working families with
children. County DHS staff expressed interest
in greater utilization of the outreach brochures.
There is a great deal to be done to educate
families about child health coverage available
for working families under either the Mississippi
Medicaid program or the state children’s
health insurance program (CHIP). Mississippi
has been awarded a Covering Kids grant, and
public/private sector organizations are working
on improving information resources and access
to coverage. Details are available on the Covering
Kids website at www.coveringkids.org.
Child Health Care
Families in Mayersville expressed concerns
regarding the lack of a health provider in
their community. The closest health facilities
are located 12 to 15 miles away. For families
without transportation, such a distance represents
a substantial barrier to health care. In cases
of emergency, the combination of no health
provider and no transportation present unsafe
circumstances. The ambulance service that serves
Mayersville is 12 miles away and residents
said the response time is unreliable.
Medicaid transportation is provided on a scheduled
basis, but the health needs of children often
do not conform to a scheduling system. For
persons not eligible for Medicaid, there is
no public transportation.
Since the population of Mayersville is so
small, the desire of residents for on-site
health care represents a significant challenge.
Attending the site visit meeting with community
leaders and families were two physicians from
the nonprofit Cary Christian Center/DeltaCare
Rural Health Center, located approximately
12-15 miles away. The exchange among the site
visit participants indicated a need for continued
dialogue to develop an appropriate solution
to the medical isolation felt by the community.
Follow-Up Site Visit
On June 9-10, 1999, the Southern Institute
made a second site visit to convene individuals
and organizations that could contribute ideas
and resources toward addressing the issues
identified during the initial visit. Two meetings
were held. The first was in Mayersville and
the second was with Mississippi Department
of Human Services (MDHS) officials in Jackson.
Those attending the follow-up site visit meetings
are listed below:
Mayersville Meeting
Unita Blackwell, Mayor of Mayersville
Marquetta Brown, Director, Issaquena County
DHS
Suzie Evans, Director, Mississippi Christian
Family Services
Andy George, M.D., DeltaCare Rural Health
Center
Steven Golightly, Region IV Administrator,
Administration on Children and Families,
US Department of Health and Human Services
Larry Bowen, Rural Development Loan Specialist,
US Department of Agriculture
David L. Jackson, Program Officer, Mid-South
Delta Local Initiative Support Corporation
Robert C. Jackson, Associate Director, Southeast
Field Office, Health Services Resources Administration,
US Department of Health and Human Services
Lessa Phillips, M.D., Chairman, Department
of Family Medicine, University of Mississippi
Medical Center
Beulah Russell, Family Day Care Homes Coordinator,
Mississippi Forum on Children and Families
Fannie Sampson, Director, Sharkey County
DHS
Sarah Shuptrine, President, Southern Institute
on Children and Families
Edgar E. Smith, Ph.D., Director, Mississippi
AHEC Program, University of Mississippi Medical
Center
Rochelle Swaggard, Covering Kids Coordinator,
Mississippi Forum on Children and Families
Jackson Meeting
Rickey Berry, Director, Resource Development,
MDHS
Unita Blackwell, Mayor of Mayersville
Jane Boykin, Director, Mississippi Forum
on Children and Families
Marquetta Brown, Director, Issaquena County
DHS
Vera Butler, Director, Economic Assistance
TANF Policy Unit, MDHS
Zenotha Robinson, Director of Transportation,
Resources Development, MDHS
Fannie Sampson, Director, Sharkey County
DHS
Sarah Shuptrine, President, Southern Institute
on Children and Families
Pam Simpson, Bureau Director, Field Operations,
MDHS
Edna Watts, Division Director, Special Initiatives
Unit, Office for Children and Youth, MDHS
Tom Watts, Deputy Director, Economic Assistance,
MDHS
Participants at the Mayersville meeting discussed
transportation, child care, health coverage
and health care issues affecting children and
families in Mayersville. Strategies were developed,
specific actions needed were identified and
responsible parties were named. The identified
issues were discussed with MDHS officials the
next day in Jackson. State officials expressed
willingness to work on the identified issues
in cooperation with local citizens. The following
summary briefly discusses the issues and describes
the strategies for action that emerged from
the discussions.
Transportation
1) Much to the surprise and dismay
of the local participants, a recent survey
conducted by Mississippi Christian Family
Services failed to adequately document the
need for transportation services in the area.
Dr. George expressed concern since he views
it as a major health problem for the area.
The Issaquena County DHS was unaware that
the survey had been conducted, and Marquetta
Brown indicated an interest in helping to
document the need she said she knows exists.
Suzie Evans, Marquetta Brown and Mayor Unita
Blackwell will work with the churches in
Issaquena County to develop data to document
the need for a system of public transportation.
The data are needed in order to obtain a
Department of Transportation (DOT) grant
that would allow the Mississippi Christian
Services to obtain the resources to provide
public transportation services to and from
work. Suzie Evans said she thought the DOT
grant also allowed transportation for shopping,
but she did not think it allowed transportation
for health care purposes.
2) Steven Golightly explained that
when not in use, Head Start buses and drivers
can be used by other programs attempting
to meet the transportation needs of low-income
families, including commuting to/from work,
child care and health care. Operational support
must be provided by the programs utilizing
the buses and drivers. One source of operational
support can be the TANF program, which has
been given new flexibility to provide support
services, such as child care and transportation,
to families whose incomes are above the eligibility
level for cash assistance. This was good
news to the meeting participants who were
unaware that Head Start buses could be utilized
to meet other transportation needs.
Currently, the Head Start buses in Mayersville
are needed only a few hours a day and are
parked during the times they are not in use.
The Head Start buses represent a clear transportation
resource for Mayersville, as do the drivers
who appear to be underutilized. Mr. Golightly
pointed out that Head Start bus drivers must
have certified driver’s licenses.
Mr. Golightly indicated that he would clarify
with Marvin Hogan, Director of Friends of
Children of Mississippi, Inc., that the Head
Start buses can be utilized to help meet
broader transportation needs in Mayersville.
At the meeting with MDHS officials, Edna
Watts indicated that from a child care perspective
it will be very helpful to be able to use
Head Start buses for purposes other than
Head Start.
3) Mr. Golightly also referred to
the final TANF rules issued by the Administration
for Children and Families. He pointed out
that the new regulations provide greater
flexibility in how TANF block grant funds
can be used to provide transportation services
for individuals who leave TANF and enter
the workforce. In such instances, time limits
do not apply.
4) Mississippi Christian Family Services
is the Medicaid transportation contractor,
but they are unable to transport children
or adults who are not Medicaid eligible unless
they pay at least the amount paid by Medicaid.
Since that amount is $19.20 one way, the
transportation services provided by Mississippi
Christian Family Services is out of the financial
reach of low-income families and individuals.
Suzie Evans indicated she was unaware of
a funding source for individuals and families
who are not eligible for Medicaid.
Medical related transportation needs will
be part of the follow-up work described in
the child health care section below.
5) Fostering ownership of personal
automobiles is a promising strategy for families
in rural communities like Mayersville who
must commute long distances to jobs and health
care. There are multiple methods for accomplishing
that goal. One strategy that has worked in
Florida is providing refurbished automobiles
to low-income families, including TANF families.
Efforts are also needed to assure that public
policies do not penalize families for owning
a reliable car. Sarah Shuptrine discussed
the follow-up research conducted on the federal
Food Stamp automobile asset/resource rules
identified as a problem during the initial
site visit to Mayersville (see discussion
above). A new interpretation from the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) may
be forthcoming in the near future. Under
the interpretation, TANF funded benefits
or benefits funded under Maintenance of Effort
will confer an exemption from Food Stamp
automobile asset rules. States would be given
broad discretion to decide which benefits
would confer an exemption from the Food Stamp
automobile asset test. The benefit would
not need to be identified as a TANF benefit.
Thus families that do not want to be associated
with "welfare" could still be categorically
eligible for Food Stamps based upon their
receipt of a non-welfare service that the
state supports with its block grant. A brief
description of this new opportunity for states
is included in Appendix
B.
The pending USDA guidance was discussed
with MDHS officials at the Jackson meeting.
State officials are concerned with the current
level of TANF transportation expenditures
required to support work and indicated an
interest in learning more about the new flexibility.
Sarah Shuptrine indicated that new guidance
is expected soon from USDA describing the
flexibility, and she said the Southern Institute
will provide more information to state officials
as it becomes available.
Child Care
1) Mayor Blackwell and Marquetta
Brown discussed the need for child care in
Mayersville where currently there are no
child care services for working parents.
Steven Golightly asked if efforts were being
made to expand the hours of the nearby Head
Start Center. There were no efforts underway.
Considerable interest was expressed, but
more resources would be needed. Marquetta
Brown and Fannie Sampson indicated that TANF
subsidies could be one funding source for
families if the Head Start Center could provide
full-day child care services.
Steven Golightly indicated his willingness
to help make the Head Start Center part of
the solution to the lack of child care in
Mayersville. The availability of transportation
was considered a major plus in connection
with expanded child care services at the
Head Start Center.
Head Start operational hours were mentioned
as a problem. Mr. Golightly said that some
centers in Region IV are open up to 12 hours
a day. He said he would talk with Marvin
Hogan, Director of Friends of Children of
Mississippi, Inc., concerning enhanced utilization
of the Head Start Center in Mayersville.
During a visit to the Head Start Center
following the meeting, Mayor Blackwell, Steven
Golightly and Sarah Shuptrine were given
a tour of the facility by Director Westine
Young. There are several classrooms currently
not in use that could be utilized for extended
day care. Ms. Young indicated interest in
working with the community and mentioned
that the center could also be a resource
for preschool child care.
Steven Golightly said he will discuss possibilities
with his staff and Marvin Hogan to determine
what actions are needed to bring about enhanced
child care services at the Head Start Center.
NOTE: Steven Golightly has written to
Sarah Shuptrine regarding discussions held
with his staff and Marvin Hogan subsequent
to the Mayersville meeting. He stated that
he is ready to provide assistance to Friends
of Children of Mississippi in order to
extend days and months of operation at
the Head Start Center and he also indicated
Mr. Hogan’s willingness to work with
the community with regard to the Head Start
buses. Mr. Golightly also indicated that
the assistance provided by MDHR for child
care provider training could be very helpful
to this effort (see #3 below).
2) Beulah Russell discussed the possibilities
for establishing family day care services
in Mayersville. The Mississippi Forum on
Children and Families provides technical
assistance in the development of family day
care under a grant from the Mississippi Department
of Education. The Forum has submitted a request
to allow Issaquena County to be added to
the list of counties to receive start-up
technical assistance services. If the request
is granted, Ms. Russell would be available
to work with interested parties to look at
the possibility of establishing family day
care services in Mayersville.
During the Jackson meeting, Jane Boykin
pointed out that family day care provides
a more flexible option for parents who work
nontraditional hours. She indicated that
family day care opportunities might also
be explored close to employers. Ms. Boykin
offered her assistance to Mayor Blackwell
and said she would be willing to visit Mayersville
to discuss family day care opportunities
with interested parties in the community.
NOTE: The Mississippi Forum on Children
and Families has been informed by the Mississippi
Department of Education, Office of Child
Nutrition, that the Forum will be able
to add Issaquena County to the list of
counties to receive family day care start-up
technical assistance services.
3) Mayor Blackwell mentioned that
she had provided a list of five women in
Mayersville who are interested in providing
child care in their home. The list was prepared
at the request of Ronnie McGinnis, Director
of the MDHS Office of Children and Youth.
A copy also has been made available to Jane
Boykin and Marquetta Brown.
NOTE: Marquetta Brown will serve as the
local contact for follow-up activities
related to the child care opportunities
discussed above.
Child Health Coverage
1) Rochelle Swaggard, Coordinator
of the Mississippi Covering Kids Initiative,
reported on an issue that has emerged in
state level discussions regarding the children
of parents who are sanctioned under the TANF
program. Ms. Swaggard said children in sanctioned
families are being allowed two months to
reapply for Medicaid or the children’s
Medicaid cases will be closed.
Sarah Shuptrine said it is highly likely
that the children in sanctioned families
would continue to be eligible under the poverty
related Medicaid coverage group for children.
Ms. Swaggard indicated that the Mississippi
Covering Kids Initiative, which is a collaborative
group that includes MDHS and the Medicaid
Division, will continue to work on determining
what action can be taken to see that children
who are Medicaid eligible maintain coverage.
2) Sarah Shuptrine asked if the information
outreach brochures developed by the Southern
Institute and replicated in cooperation with
Mississippi Medicaid and MDHS officials are
being utilized. Marquetta Brown and Fannie
Sampson indicated that they are sharing the
outreach brochures with families who apply
for public benefits and TANF families so
that they are aware of the health and other
benefits available to them without any requirement
that they be on welfare. Sarah Shuptrine
encouraged broad community distribution of
the brochures and pointed out the "Have
You Heard About Benefits for Working Families" brochure
as the most appropriate for general community
outreach.
Child Health Care
1) A wide-ranging discussion of the
need for improved access to primary and preventive
health care for children and adults in Mayersville
continued to come back to lack of transportation
as a major issue (see discussion above).
The desire of Mayersville residents to have
on-site health care produced discussion of
existing programs surrounding Mayersville
and whether a health facility should be brought
to Mayersville or whether adequate, responsive
transportation should be provided to transport
residents to existing health providers. Also
discussed was the need for a coordinated
approach involving transportation and health
providers located in the area from Vicksburg
to Rolling Fork to Greenville.
Robert Jackson offered to convene several
meetings with Dr. Andy George, Dr. Lessa
Phillips and Edgar Smith to work on a plan
to develop a coordinated health services
system to serve the health needs of Mayersville
residents.
Dr. Lessa Phillips and Edgar Smith indicated
that Mayersville could serve as a model for
interaction among health providers and other
interested parties regarding the role the
Mississippi AHEC could play in helping communities
in need of health services.
NOTE: Robert Jackson has advised Sarah
Shuptrine that the first meeting of the
Mayersville child health care group is
scheduled for July. Transportation issues
will be taken into consideration, and experts
in that area will be brought into the discussions.
2) The concerns of residents regarding
emergency health services in the region centered
on the inadequacy of ambulance services as
well as the limited treatment available at
the nearest hospital, located 12-15 miles
away. It was reported that Mississippi requires
all counties to have ambulance services available.
The ambulance service that serves Mayersville
is located at the small hospital in Rolling
Fork, but the hospital is not equipped to
handle serious emergencies or trauma.
Dr. Andy George said that occasionally they
are so short-staffed at the hospital that
the person calling for an ambulance must
wait until someone gets to the hospital to
drive the ambulance. He said there are times
when persons calling for an ambulance are
told that they will get there faster by driving.
This clearly creates a hazardous situation.
The availability of licensed Head Start drivers
in Mayersville was mentioned, and a suggestion
was made that these drivers could possibly
be a part of the solution.
NOTE: The group described in #1 also
will address emergency service needs.
3) Mayor Blackwell mentioned that
she had worked on an application for USDA
funding to help with a multi-purpose community
facility for Mayersville. Larry Bowen indicated
that the application had been received and
he will check on the status. Indications
were that part of the facility could be used
for health services.
Conclusion
The complexity of the issues facing Mayersville
requires coordinated, comprehensive action.
Because there are multiple state and federal
agencies that administer various programs for
low-income families, significant challenges
arise when attempting to identify and implement
solutions in communities like Mayersville.
The experience of the Southern Institute in
Mayersville indicates that a team approach
to technical assistance is required if rural
communities with limited resources are to make
sense of and access the services and benefits
greatly needed by their citizens. The expertise
of state agencies, federal agencies and nonprofit
organizations is available, but there is no
systematic approach to bringing them together
to apply their "know-how" to the
development of comprehensive strategies. Government
and nonprofit organizations working together
toward the same goals can be a powerful force
in achieving quality of life improvements in
any setting, but it is particularly essential
in attempting to help isolated rural communities
like Mayersville.
Through this initiative, public and private
organizations were able to look across agency
lines and focus on the contribution each could
make. In instances where programs are in place
to address needs, the willingness of several
agencies to step forward to facilitate a continuation
of multi-agency efforts has greatly enhanced
the chances that action will occur. In other
instances, state and federal public policies
must be examined to identify actions that will
make transportation, child care, health coverage
and health care more accessible in areas where
lack of resources and long distances create
additional barriers.
The role played by the Southern Institute
in Mayersville can be replicated and improved
upon in other rural communities. The convening
and facilitation of a coordinated approach
led to the development of action steps long
needed, but unrealized. As a result, it is
highly likely that benefits and services needed
to improve opportunities for low-income children
will become more available and accessible.
That’s an outcome worth pursuing.
Extraordinary efforts will be needed to prevent
small rural communities like Mayersville from
dying out. The loss of such communities should
be and can be avoided. Families with children
are needed to build a future for Mayersville
and making it possible for them to thrive is
essential. As eloquently stated by Mayor Blackwell, "We
must find a way to not leave people behind
and to help our children feel like they are
part of a new era."
Acknowledgments
The Southern Institute on Children and Families
would like to express its appreciation to The
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for its support
of the Southern Regional Initiative to Improve
Access to Benefits for Low-Income Families
With Children. The Mayersville case study is
part of the initiative. Special appreciation
is extended to Judith Whang, Senior Program
Officer, for her assistance throughout the
project.
The Southern Institute wishes to express sincere
appreciation to the residents of Mayersville
who participated in site visit meetings. Their
willingness to share their concerns and ideas
is greatly appreciated.
The Southern Institute also extends its appreciation
to Rickey Berry, Nan Bingham, Ronnie McGinnis,
Pam Simpson, Tom Watts, Zenotha Robinson, Vera
Butler and Edna Watts of the Mississippi Department
of Human Services (MDHS), for their assistance
and their willingness to continue to work on
identified issues. The Southern Institute is
especially grateful for the participation and
assistance of Marquetta Brown, Issaquena County
DHS Director, and Fannie Sampson, Sharkey County
DHS Director. The attendance of Kathy Wasson,
Division of Medicaid, Vicksburg office, at
the initial site visit is also appreciated.
The participation of Andy George, M.D., DeltaCare
Rural Health Center, and Lessa Phillips, M.D.
and Edgar Smith, Ph.D., University of Mississippi
Medical Center, is also greatly appreciated.
Appreciation is also extended to Steven Golightly,
Region IV Administrator, Administration for
Children and Families, US Department of Health
and Human Services, and Robert Jackson, Associate
Director of the Southeast Field Office, Health
Services Resources Administration, US Department
of Health and Human Services, for participation
in the Mayersville meeting and their continued
interest in working to help resolve issues
identified during the discussions. Appreciation
is also extended to Larry Bowen, Rural Development
Loan Specialist, US Department of Agriculture,
for his participation in the second site visit.
Appreciation is also extended to Jane Boykin,
Merrill King, Beulah Russell and Rochelle Swaggard
of the Mississippi Forum on Children and Families
for their participation in the site visit meetings
and their continued interest in working on
identified issues.
The Southern Institute also appreciates the
participation of Suzie Evans, Director of Mississippi
Christian Family Services, and David Jackson,
Program Officer of the Mid-South Delta Local
Initiative Support Corporation, who attended
the second site visit meeting in Mayersville.
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