Champions for Inclusive Communities (ChampionsInc) Star Communities
ChampionsInc, a national center designed to support communities in organizing services for families of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN), has created the Star Communities program to recognize exceptional communities that work to support organizing services for families of CYSHCN. To read about the Jackson, MS community selected to be recognized, click here.
AAP: Community Pediatrics Grant Database
The Community Pediatrics Grant Database archives previously funded Community Pediatrics grant projects, including those funded through the CATCH Program, the Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Program, the Community Pediatrics Training Initiative and the Healthy People 2010 Chapter Grants. The database is searchable by seven major categories: target population, health topic, state/territory, project activity, AAP program, AAP district, and project year. Members of the AAP can obtain grantee contact information by searching through the Member Center. If you are not an AAP member, but have questions please contact docbi@aap.org.
State Implementation Grant (D70) for Improving Systems of Services for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN)
Grant Period: 2008-2011 (or 2009-2012, depending on which class they are)
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
118 College Dr, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
Program Director: Royal P Walker
Phone: 601/432-6261 | E-mail: rwalker@ihl.state.ms.us
University of Southern Mississippi State Implementation Grant for Systems of Services for Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs
Project period: June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2012
Purpose: To implement the President’s New Freedom Initiative (NFI) by improving access to a quality, comprehensive, coordinated community-based system of services for CYSHCN and their families that are family-centered and culturally competent. The initiative supports grants to assist State Title V Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) programs, family organizations, providers, and other partners to implement the six core outcomes of a system of services based on evidence based practices for CYSHCN. These six core outcomes are as follows: 1) families partner in decision making and are satisfied with the services they receive; 2) CYSHCN receive coordinated ongoing comprehensive care within a medical home; 3) families of CYSHCN have adequate private and/or public insurance to pay for the services they need; 4) children are screened early and continuously for special health care needs; 5) community-based service systems are organized so families can use them easily; and 6) youth with special health care needs receive the services necessary to make transitions to adult life, including adult health care, work, and independence.
The Pediatric Respite Network
A respite reimbursement program for the families of children with special health care needs. This program allows families to choose their own respite provider and receive reimbursement for up to 24 hours of respite care per month. Up to 30 families in the state benefit from this program. Families enrolled in this program are referred through the state's Children's Medical Program. For information on this project, contact Cynthia Huff at 601/502-4656 or msacad@bellsouth.net. This program is out of The Mississippi Chapter of the AAP through a grant from the MS State Department of Health (MSDH).
Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Grants 2005-2010
Pontotoc CATCH Kids Expansion Project
CATCH Kids, Inc. Tupelo, MS
The goal of the Pontotoc Expansion Project is to provide comprehensive, high quality medical and dental care for children with barriers to assessing care. CATCH Kids will establish both school-based clinics and evening community-based clinics in which free medical care and medications will be provided. Preventive dental care instructions along with oral hygiene care products and pre-determined restorative dental care will also be provided. Families will be assisted in enrolling for Medicaid and CHIPS when appropriate. For more information on this HTPCP project, please E-mail your name, address, telephone, and fax numbers with your specific request to healthyt@aap.org.
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Chapter - Mississippi
Academy chapters are organized groups of pediatricians and other health care professionals working to achieve AAP goals in their communities. Chapters are the channels of representation for individual members of the Academy. Please contact your local chapter for additional state resources.
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Chapter - Mississippi
The American Academy of Family Physicians is one of the largest national medical organizations, representing more than 94,000 family physicians, family medicine residents, and medical students.
Family Voices Chapter - Mississippi
Family Voices aims to achieve family-centered care for all children and youth with special health care needs and/or disabilities. Through a national network, they provide families tools to make informed decisions, advocate for improved public and private policies, build partnerships among professionals and families, and serve as a trusted resource on health care.
Family-to-Family Health Information Centers (F2F HICs)
F2F HICs are non-profit organizations that help families of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and the professionals who serve them. F2F HICs are in a unique position to help families because they are typically staffed/run by parents of CYSHCN themselves, and as parents, they have traveled through the maze of services and programs designed to help CYSHCN. Staff at F2F HICs understand the issues that families face, provide advice, offer a multitude of resources, and tap into a network of other families and professionals for support and information. Family Voices, through the National Center for Family / Professional Partnerships, provides technical assistance, training, and connections to other F2F HICs and partnering organizations.
University of Southern Mississippi
Address: 118 College Drive, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
Phone: 601/432-6261
Primary Contact: Royal Walker
Title V Block Grant to States
Title V of the Social Security Act is one of the largest Federal block grant programs. It leads the nation in ensuring the health of all mothers, infants, children, adolescents, and children with special health care needs (CSHCN). Title V is administered by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) as part of the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
MCH Contact
Daniel R. Bender, Director of Health Services
Address: Mississippi State Department of Health, Jackson, Mississippi 39215
Phone: 601/576-7472 | Fax: 601/576-7825 | E-mail: dbender@msdh.state.ms.us
Web site
Title V and Children with Special Health Care Needs
MCHB Objective: Support development and implementation of comprehensive, culturally competent, coordinated systems of care for the estimated 18 million U.S. children who have or are at risk for chronic physical, developmental, behavioral or emotional conditions and who also require health and related services of a type or amount beyond that required by children generally.
CSHCN Contact
Lawrence Clark, MSDH Director of Children's Medical Program
Address: PO Box 1700, Jackson , Mississippi 39215-1700
Phone: 601/987-3965 | Fax: 601/987-5560 | E-mail: lawrence.clark@msdh.state.ms.us
Web site
Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI) Contact(s)
State EHDI programs promote universal newborn hearing screening, develop effective tracking and follow-up as a part of the public health system, promote appropriate and timely diagnosis of the hearing loss, prompt enrollment in appropriate Early Intervention, ensure a medical home for all newborns and strive to eliminate geographic and financial barriers to service access.
State Newborn Screening & Genetics Programs
Mississippi Newborn Screening Program and Contact Information
From the National Newborn Screening and Genetics Resource Center Web site
Mississippi Genetic Services and Contact Information
From the National Newborn Screening and Genetics Resource Center Web site
Newborn Screening and Genetics Collaborative – HRSA Region 3
Translating research into practical health care services and systems to improve the health and quality of life of individuals with heritable disorders through Collaboration and Partnership
Early Intervention/Part C Coordinator
The Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part C of IDEA) is a federal grant program that assists states in operating a comprehensive statewide program of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities, ages birth through age 2 years, and their families.
Danita Munday (Interim Director)
Phone: 601/576-7427 | Fax: 601/576-7540 | E-mail: Danita.Munday@msdh.state.ms.us
Web site
Section 619/Special Education for ages 3-5 Coordinators
This program provides free appropriate public education (FAPE) for children, ages 3 through 5 years, with disabilities:
Allison Moffett, Program Coordinator
Phone: 601/359-3498 | Fax: 601/359-2198 | E-mail: amoffett@mde.k12.ms.us
Web site
State Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC) Chairs
The ICC advises appropriate agencies on the unmet needs in early childhood special education and early intervention programs for children with disabilities, assists in the development and implementation of policies that constitute a statewide system, and assists all appropriate agencies in achieving full participation, coordination, and cooperation for implementation of statewide system.
Louis Aldridge, ICC Co-Chair
Phone: 601/842-3569 | E-mail: laldridge@dixie-net.com
Rep. John Moore, ICC Co-Chair
Phone: 601/366-4100
Medicaid
Medicaid is Title XIX of the Social Security Act and is a federal/state entitlement program that provides medical assistance to certain individuals and families with low incomes and/or special health care needs. Medicaid is of unique importance to children; together with the Children's Health Insurance Program, Medicaid insures over 1 in 4 children in the United States, with millions more eligible but currently unenrolled. The Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) program is a critical component of Medicaid, which guarantees that children enrolled in Medicaid are screened for medical or developmental problems early, and that necessary treatments and services are provided.
Medicaid State Director
For the most updated contact, please refer to the National Association of State Medicaid Directors Member List.
State Waiver Information
Waivers are the result of a process that allows state Medicaid agencies to apply for and receive permission from HCFA to provide services not otherwise covered by Medicaid and/or to do so in ways not described by the Social Security Act. Most Medicaid managed care programs require Waivers. The Waivers, which can differ greatly, are known by their numbers (1115, 1119), or as home-and community-based, or as Katie Beckett Waivers.
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
CHIP is Title XXI of the Social Security Act and is a state and federal partnership that targets uninsured children and pregnant women in families with incomes too high to qualify for most state Medicaid programs, but often too low to afford private coverage. Within federal guidelines, each state determines the design of its individual CHIP program, including eligibility parameters, benefit packages, and administrative procedures. The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) reauthorized the program through FY 2013, and includes many incentives for states to find and enroll more eligible children in both Medicaid and CHIP. CHIPRA also includes a number of quality provisions that aim to monitor and improve care delivered through the Medicaid and CHIP programs. Each state does have a CHIP program, and the names of these programs differ from state to state.
Children’s Health Insurance State Program Director
For the most updated contact, please refer to the CMS listing of CHIP Directors. 
Community Health Centers in the State
Federally-funded health centers care for you, even if you have no health insurance. You pay what you can afford, based on your income. Health centers provide checkups when you're well, treatment when you're sick, complete care when you're pregnant, immunizations and checkups for your children, dental care and prescription drugs for your family, mental health and substance abuse care if you need it. For a listing of CHCs in Mississippi, please use HRSA’s ‘Find A Health Center’ search engine.
Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) Mississippi State Profile
These state profiles provide a snapshot of how the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant works in specific states. The profiles detail the Federal funds appropriated to each state, state match, specific programs funded, numbers of people receiving services and state health needs.
AAP Issue Brief: Implementing the Medical Home in Medicaid, CHIP, and Multistakeholder Demonstration Programs
(AAP Member access only)
The Medical Home Issue Brief serves to provide guidance to AAP chapters working with states to implement medical home projects in Medicaid and CHIP as well as multipayer demonstration programs. It also addresses a number of the policy questions that frequently arise in creating state supports for the medical home.
Child Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI) Medical Home Portal - Mississippi State Profile
These state profiles provide a state’s medical home performance level for all children or children with special health care needs, based on national survey data.
National Adolescent Health Information Center (NAHIC) Adolescent Health Database
The NAHIC database includes national and state-level profiles of key measures of the health of adolescents and young adults, based on Healthy People 2010. Known as the Data Project, the online resource contains information on recent progress in key areas of adolescent health. National-level data is available by gender and race/ethnicity and also state-by-state, with summaries and data tables. The site also features information about data collection and presentation, state and national Excel files and guidance for using this data to improve the health of adolescents and young adults.
2010 KIDS COUNT Databook
The Annie E Casey Foundation has released the 2010 Kids Count report. The annual Kids Count report is a national and state-by-state profile of the well-being of America's children that seeks to enrich discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all kids. The 2010 Kids Count report data is available as an interactive databook, a complete PDF-format report , and on request, in print. Data and rankings on 10 key indicators of child well-being are available by state, county, and city.
Healthy Futures: Adolescent Transition in Mississippi
Healthy Futures: Adolescent Transition in Mississippi will provide the catalyst to establish a strong, responsive system of transition services for adolescents with special health care needs in Mississippi, bringing together diverse groups and individuals, building community infrastructure, and resulting in successful transition to adult health care, employment, and independent living.
