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The First 5 Medi-Cal Learning Community: First 5s Partner with Managed Care Plans on Medi-Cal Transformation

The last four years have been a time of tremendous transformation in the Medi-Cal program, including reforms that impact young children and call on Medi-Cal managed care plans to work more closely with community partners.

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As Childhood Poverty Rises, the Child Tax Credit Remains a Crucial Benefit for California’s Youngest Children

With tax season approaching, it is important to highlight the programs that help lower income families with young children receive much needed financial assistance.

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Many Medi-Cal Changes Underway: An Overview and the Impact on Children

The State of California has embarked on multiple efforts over the last few years to transform the way health care is delivered in the Medi-Cal program. These efforts illustrate Governor Newsom’s larger vision for reform, including those that hold promise to improve outcomes for children.

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Diaper Need: The Impacts of the Inability to Afford Diapers for Families in California

As pandemic-era relief programs end, more and more families report an inability to afford basic needs such as food, housing, utilities, childcare, and healthcare according to Stanford’s RAPID survey.

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Community Health Worker Medi-Cal Benefit: Implementation and the Role of Community Partners Like First 5

Community health workers (CHWs), promotores, and other non-licensed health professionals are frontline public health workers and trusted members of the communities they serve.

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FDA approval of the first postpartum depression pill and what it means for infant and toddler health and development

On August 4, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first pill for postpartum depression (PPD), marking a significant milestone in treating a condition that affects one in five California women.

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New Children’s Medi-Cal Behavioral Health Benefits 101: Family Therapy and Dyadic Services

California has created a dyadic services Medi-Cal benefit effective January 2023. The dyadic services benefit allows Medi-Cal to cover behavioral health wellness visits that focus on the individual child and their surrounding environment, including caregiver wellness, all within the context of the child’s medical appointment.

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Local Developmental Screening and Early Start Access Rates: A California Snapshot

In order to better understand the landscape of how counties are serving young children with developmental concerns, we did a deep dive into available data sources. The data uncover average developmental screening rates across the state, as well as the proportion of infants and toddlers accessing Early Start services (Part C) by regional center.

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Department of Health Care Services Releases 2021 Preventive Services Report

New data released from the Department of Health Care Services shows how children in Medi-Cal managed care fared in 2020, and just how far we will need to increase preventive service delivery to ensure children receive all the benefits to which they are entitled.

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Prioritizing Children and Families in California’s New Community Health Worker Benefit

The First 5 Center, First 5 Association, and our partners listed below recently submitted stakeholder comments to inform California’s definition of the new Community Health Workers benefit.

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