Who We Are
Colorado Covering Kids and Families (CKF) is a statewide project that works to ensure all children and families eligible for Medicaid and Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) are enrolled. The Colorado Community Health Network (CCHN) is the lead agency for the project. CKF is made up of the CKF Coalition, the CKF Advisory Committee, the Agency Partners Work Group, and the Health Policy Work Group. Click here for CKF’s project fact sheet.

Mission
The Colorado CKF Mission is to increase access to health coverage and health care for all children and families in Colorado by bridging communication between families, front-line workers, and decision makers who collaborate to implement positive change in public insurance programs.

Vision
CKF envisions a Colorado where all families have health coverage that is affordable, easy to use and provides quality health care that keeps families healthy, and offers peace of mind.

What We Know
Families applying for public health insurance coverage face many barriers. Program applications are often complicated and difficult to read and families can be confused by vague or inconsistent eligibility criteria. In addition, enrollment workers often struggle with a statewide computer enrollment system that has been stretched beyond its intended capacity and insufficient staffing and resources make it difficult to keep up with growing caseloads. Combined, these barriers and others, keep eligible kids and families from getting and keeping coverage.

What We Do
With a membership of community-based organizations, advocates, providers, schools, and health policy experts from across the state, Colorado CKF:

• Supports outreach, enrollment, and retention efforts;
• Works to simplify enrollment and re-enrollment processes;
• Improves coordination between Medicaid and CHP+;
• Bridges the gap between outreach and enrollment professionals and health policy decision-makers; and
• Builds a coalition to create sustainable improvements to Colorado’s public health
insurance programs.

Lessons from CKF in Colorado – November 2008
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation produced an issue brief providing a historical review of Covering Kids and Families in Colorado. The brief describes CKF’s strategies and victories in three key areas: outreach, simplification and coordination. Special thanks for our Coalition and Work Group members for their help in achieving these successes!

Improving Public Coverage for Children: Lessons From CKF in Colorado

CKF Structure
The Colorado Community Health Network (CCHN) is the lead agency for the CKF project. The project is made up of the following groups:

• CKF Coalition
• CKF Advisory Committee
• Agency Partners Work Group
• Health Policy Work Group

The CKF Coalition includes more than 375 individuals from over 220 agencies and organizations statewide. CKF Coalition members work to identify improvements in public health insurance programs, represent the needs of families and local communities in the policy process, and support local efforts to enhance outreach and enrollment in Medicaid and CHP+.

The CKF Advisory Committee serves as the decision-making board for the coalition. Members of the Advisory Committee include:

Colorado Community Health Network
Kaiser Permanente Colorado
Mesa County Partnership for Children and Families
Miles Consulting, Inc.
Pueblo StepUp
Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics
The Arc in Jefferson County
Tri-County Health Department

The Agency Partners Work Group focuses on outreach, enrollment, and retention issues in Medicaid and CHP+. Members and CKF staff share resources, strengthen partnerships and provide each other with technical assistance on Medicaid and CHP+ policies and rule changes.

The Health Policy Work Group monitors and discusses legislation and regulations that impact Medicaid and CHP+.

CKF Staff
To learn more about Colorado CKF or to find out more about our Coalition and Work Group meetings, contact us.

CKF Sponsors
Rose Community Foundation
The Colorado Health Foundation
Caring for Colorado Foundation
David and Lucile Packard Foundation
The Denver Foundation

To learn more about the national CKF initiative, visit Covering Kids and Families.