Performing outreach with limited resources: CKF grantees' successes and challenges over three years

The Covering Kids and Families (CKF) program was a national initiative focused on reducing the number of eligible but uninsured children and adults through enrollment in Medicaid and SCHIP. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) funded these efforts through four-year grants to 46 state grantees and 152 local projects starting in 2002. As part of a larger RWJF-funded evaluation of CKF, we analyzed quantitative and qualitative data entered by CKF state grantees and local projects into an on-line reporting system designed as part of the evaluation. We present findings on trends in media use and in-person outreach over a three-year period. While CKF grantees faced funding and staffing limitations, demand for their services remained high as a result of decreases in state-funded outreach efforts. Over their grant periods, state grantees and local projects assisted with over 180,000 Medicaid and SCHIP applications. Additionally, state grantees and local projects partnered with other organizations, such as HMOs, to supplement funding for media outreach and public relations. They took advantage of the opportunity to perform outreach at already-established events, and they relied heavily on media outreach to reach large numbers of families. Given the evidence that outreach efforts have a positive effect on enrollment, this information is especially pertinent in light of an ongoing focus at both the federal and state level on children's enrollment in public coverage programs.