May is National Foster Care Month, where we should take an opportunity to honor those in out-of-home placement and the individuals who support them. In 2021, 20,490 children and youth were placed in the foster care system—many who were unable to safely remain in the homes of their parents or caregivers and others who could’ve stayed in their home communities with community-based services.

We recognize and thank the kinship caregivers and foster parents who have stepped up to care for them. We acknowledge biological parents and caregivers working tirelessly to mitigate the risk and safety concerns that lead to placement. We also thank the caseworkers, providers and advocates on the front lines daily, ensuring that foster children grow, thrive and achieve permanency.

To further highlight the child welfare system in May, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released Fostering Youth Transitions 2023: State and National Data to Drive Foster Care Advocacy. Transition age youth are foster children ages 14 and older who are in or exiting the system to adulthood. This population has poorer outcomes compared to their peers in the general population. The report notes that although the number of teenagers and young adults in foster care has decreased by 45% nationally over the past 15 years, systems are falling short of delivering services to those who are in care.

Read PPC’s press release on the report noting Pennsylvania-specific data and policy recommendations.

Axios PA interviewed PPC Policy Director Rachael Miller about the report.

The Pennsylvania Health Law Project is excited to share our latest Impact Report highlighting the achievements of our staff over the first few months of 2023. Without the support our donors, wey would not have been able to accomplish what we did last quarter.

This year marks our 30^th anniversary of incorporation as a nonprofit, and we started the year off with a bang! During the first quarter of 2023, PHLP staff provided free legal services to nearly 400 clients and provided over 5,000 hours of legal assistance to Pennsylvanians from across the state.

In the Report, read about our case work and the clients we serve, client spotlights, responses from our client satisfaction surveys, honors and awards our staff received, and policy highlights showcasing our work from the last quarter.

We are so proud of the work we do here at PHLP, and we can’t wait for you to take a look at what we accomplished so far this year. We look forward to coming together to mark our 30^th anniversary with our colleagues, friends, and supporters. Stay tuned for exciting updates about our anniversary celebrations later this year.

Read the report!

 A Summary of three events in 2022 between the National Indian Health Board, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and CMS Tribal Technical Advisory Group to discuss health equity.

  The policy research organization, Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), uses FORHP’s definition of rural to count the number of consumers who selected or were automatically re-enrolled into a health insurance plan found through the federal Marketplace as of the end of the open enrollment period.

  The Government Accountability Office (GAO) interviewed federal and state officials and reviewed survey data from providers to learn how the use of electronic health information exchange changed since the enactment of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act in 2009.  GAO found that the use of electronic exchange among hospitals and physicians increased in recent years but use among small and rural hospitals was lower than that of other hospitals. This finding may be because small and rural providers are less likely to have the financial and technical resources to participate in electronic exchange—such as adequate IT staff and sufficient access to broadband internet.

The study tested a care coordination model in six rural primary care sites during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, from July 2020 to January 2021.  Each clinic tracked patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) as they received medication treatment from an external telemedicine provider.

We create interactive maps for the Pre-K for PA campaign each year, and the 2023 maps and fact sheets are now available.

The maps show the unmet need for high-quality, publicly funded pre-k and high-quality pre-k locations receiving public funds and eligible provider locations not yet receiving Pre-K Counts funding or not yet serving eligible preschool-age children through Child Care Works. From the mapping application, you can print statewide and county fact sheets. PPC typically can produce fact sheets at the legislative district level, but these are unavailable for 2023 due to delayed census data and redistricting effective this year.

Black women living in the least vulnerable areas of the U.S. are more likely to die or have worse birth outcomes compared to white women living in the most vulnerable areas, according to a recent study published in The Lancet. Federal data also showed that maternal mortality rates in the U.S. rose 40% in 2021, which is the highest rate in nearly 60 years. The study recommends locally informed health interventions and additional research into racism to achieve maternal health equity. Read More.