Voices is the go-to resource for policymakers when it comes to children’s coverage. We educate legislators on administrative solutions and policy changes that will reduce the rate of uninsured children. We share the significance of parental and caregiver coverage, and explain how expanding coverage through Medicaid is critical for family stability and community economic prosperity.
HEALTHY MINDS AND BODIES
Why It Matters
The leading causes of school absences are asthma, oral health problems, and mental health challenges.
Voices believes access to quality healthcare and comprehensive insurance are vital for a child’s development. Children without coverage are more likely to have unmet health needs and lack a usual source of care.
Where Georgia Stands
4
Highest uninsured childhood population in the nation
56
of children who die before the age of 18 are Black children, despite making up only one-third of the state's child population
40
of Georgia’s children age 3 to 17 have trouble accessing the mental health treatment they need.
Our Priorities
Highlights of Our Work
Increasing insurance coverage for children
In 2019, an estimated 197,000 children under the age of 19 in Georgia were uninsured.
The majority of uninsured children in Georgia are eligible for Medicaid or PeachCare for Kids®. Yet, many remain uninsured due to issues with eligibility determinations, enrollment and renewals.
Our work in this area:
Implementing recommendations from the Barriers to Healthcare Access for Georgia’s Children report.
Voices’ Barriers to Healthcare for Georgia’s Children report identified and highlighted ten of the most common challenges that people across the state told us they experience when it comes to accessing healthcare and health coverage. In the report, Voices offers a set of recommendations that would alleviate these challenges by changing systems and policies to provide the services and care they need.
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Improving access to behavioral healthcare for children
Stressful or traumatic events (such as abuse, neglect, or witnessing domestic violence) along with undiagnosed or untreated behavioral disorders (like autism, attention deficit disorder, depression and anxiety) can lead to a lifetime of unintended consequences such as the delayed ability to learn, unmanaged anger, substance abuse, or even suicide.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for kids ages 13-17.
In 2019, more than 117,000 middle and high school students in Georgia reported they had attempted or considered suicide.
In 2017, Voices investigated why roughly 60% of children in our state with a mental or behavioral condition are not receiving the services they need and subsequently published the “Georgia’s Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Workforce Analysis,” which focused on the deficiencies in the number and quality of professionals in the mental health field.
Our work in this area includes:
Implementing recommendations from our Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Workforce Analysis
Voices, in partnership with our Child and Adolescent Health Coalition and the Interagency Directors Team, is leading the implementation of the recommendations outlined in our Children’s Behavioral Health Workforce report. The report shows the behavioral healthcare needs of Georgia’s children are not being met. Our in-depth research and analysis identified opportunities to strengthen the workforce in three areas: education and training, practice environment, and retaining high-quality practitioners.
A critical pain point identified for emerging behavioral health professionals in our analysis, and possibly a major contributor to workforce shortages and turnover, is a lack of access to clinical supervision that effectively supplements their academic learnings, allows them to attain and maintain licensure, and assists them in translating theory into practice. Additionally, despite the known impact of providers’ cultural competency on the outcomes of their behavioral health clients, cultural competency training is not a standard requirement for acquiring or maintaining licensure in Georgia.
In order to identify potential solutions, Voices conducted key informant interviews with a diverse sample of behavioral health provider agencies to explore clinical supervision models and ways providers can support and retain emerging professionals through supervision and other related policies.
Cultivating Trauma-Informed Universities
Trauma-Informed Universities is a multi-year initiative to transform Georgia’s behavioral health workforce into robust, trauma-informed providers. Because trauma training for behavioral health providers is inconsistent, it is imperative that we align this training for our kids. Along with the Interagency Directors Team, Voices has implemented a trauma training pilot at five universities across the state, and will be coordinating internships and expanding trauma training to counseling programs.
Leading the Behavioral Health subgroup of the Child and Adolescent Health Coalition
Voices leads the behavioral health subgroup of the Child and Adolescent Health Coalition (CAHC). The work of the subgroup lead to the creation of the Children’s Mental Health Commission with Voices’ Executive Director, Dr. Erica Fener Sitkoff as a member. The Commission’s work led to an unprecedented $24 million in new funding for children’s mental health services. In 2019, Governor Kemp made an additional $8 million investment in our state’s school-based mental health program, Project Apex.
Increasing healthcare access through school-based and other telemedicine programs
Due to provider shortages in the state’s rural areas, families often travel long distances to access pediatric primary and specialty services
By bringing health care services to where children are: at school, we can increase access to quality primary health care, improve the delivery of health services, and improve the health outcomes for children in Georgia. Voices spearheaded the development, state funding, and expansion of school-based mental health services to 394 Georgia schools over the past five years.
Approximately 94% of Georgia counties have a full or partial health professional shortage.
Our work in this area includes:
Voices’ School-based Telemedicine Project
Voices, along with Emory University’s PARTNERS in Equity for Child and Adolescent Health, is developing comprehensive guidelines for school-based telemedicine programs in Georgia. The guidance will outline how to: enroll children, ensure adequate onsite management, establish effective communication between telemedicine and primary care providers, and implement financial practices, including billing. This guidance will ensure efficiency of telemedicine investments and enable successful implementation of school-based telemedicine services.
Leading the Child and Adolescent Health Coalition
In 2015, Voices founded the Child and Adolescent Health Coalition (CAHC) in partnership with the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (coalition members below). The CAHC unites advocates, service providers, universities, and state agency leaders to advance solutions that improve health outcomes for Georgia’s children and families, particularly those most vulnerable. We share best practices from communities, illuminate disparities, identify policy priorities to expand what’s working well and, importantly, address what’s not working — such as the disproportionate increase in uninsured children and inability to access behavioral health services and supports.
80+ members from across the state unite to raise awareness and improve children's health.
Our work in this area includes:
While the list of policy priorities will be finalized in May/June, at the forefront of initial discussions are state budget cuts, telehealth, health coverage, food access, and child abuse. More specifically, an extension of the loosened restrictions on telehealth provision (such that providers can be reimbursed for these services and programs remain viable), streamlined access to health care coverage and food access benefits, and multi-sector collaborations to meet the increased behavioral health needs of children.
It is clear that health agencies cannot solve these challenges alone. For example, the digital divide (i.e. disparate access to connectivity) was heard loud and clear as the CAHC discussed what we truly need to improve access via telehealth. The dialogue underscored the importance of whole child policy and cross agency partnerships. Thankfully, the CAHC has diverse membership in background and networks to help make that happen.
Recent big win:
Greater access to Medicaid and SNAP applications online. The Coalition has long called for increased access to Gateway, the state’s benefits portal, which limited application inflow by restricting access to the workday for Medicaid and not allowing online initial applications for SNAP. After a strong, multi-pronged push, 24/7 access for Medicaid was opened and all SNAP applications can now be received online as of January 2020.
American Psychiatric Association
Aspire Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
Atlanta Legal Aid Society
CarePartners of Georgia
CareSource
Carl Vinson Institute of Government
The Carter Center
Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council, Inc.
Childkind
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
CHRIS 180
Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia
Easterseals North Georgia
Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice
Georgia Association of School Nurses
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute
Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential
Georgia Center for Child Advocacy
Georgia Council on Substance Abuse
Georgia Dept. of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
Child and Adolescent Health Coalition
Georgia Dept. of Community Health
Georgia Dept. of Early Care and Learning
Georgia Dept. of Juvenile Justice
Georgia Dept. of Education
Georgia Dept. of Public Health
Georgia Division of Family and Children Services
Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students
Georgia Equality
Georgia HOPE
Georgia Legal Services Program
Georgia Parent Support Network
Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education
Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center
Georgia School Boards Association
Georgia Society for Respiratory Care
Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network
Georgia State University Center of Excellence for Children’s Behavioral Health
Georgia State University Center for Leadership in Disability
Georgia State University Health Law Partnership Legal Services Clinic
Get Georgia Reading
Georgians for a Healthy Future
Grady Health System
Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies
Hillside
Interfaith Children’s Movement
J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development
Lamar County Schools Social Work Program
Mental Health America of Georgia
Metropolitan Counseling Services
Morehouse School of Medicine
National Alliance for Mental Illness Georgia
National Association of Pediatric Nurses Georgia
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
Parent to Parent of Georgia
PARTNERS for Equity in Child and Adolescent Health
Partnership Against Domestic Violence
Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Network of Trust School Health Program
Resilient Georgia
Together Georgia
The Tull Charitable Foundation
United Way of Greater Atlanta
View Point Health
Voices for Georgia’s Children
VOX ATL
Wins for Kids
Underserved areas of Georgia have more access to pediatric care.
During the 2019 Legislative Session, Voices organized support for granting telemedicine licenses to physicians licensed in other states. This action by the General Assembly expands access to pediatric care in underserved areas of our state.
Children with environmentally sensitive medical conditions, like asthma, have safe home
environments.
environments.
Voices helped secure passage of a law that prohibits retaliation against tenants who pursue Code Enforcement for unsafe and unhealthy housing conditions.
Factsheets
Physical Health
Behavioral Health
Reports
Join Us
We are a nonprofit child policy and advocacy organization advancing laws, policies,
and actions that improve the lives of Georgia’s children.