Denver Children's Advocacy Center, others win federal grant to educate families about Medicaid

The Denver Children's Advocacy Center has won a $50,000 federal grant to educate parents and pregnant women about Medicaid and other health insurance for low-income families. The grant is the second such award for the center, which serves children who have been sexually abused, neglected or traumatized by violence.

"These grants are going out to community groups because they know how to reach the individuals, especially those who are eligible but not enrolled," says Rachel Reiter, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, which administers the grants in Colorado. Fourteen organizations received a piece of $608,370 in Maximizing Outreach, Retention and Enrollment (MORE) money. The Denver Children's Advocacy Center also won $78,710 last year.

With that money, the center created an easy-to-use webpage that explains what Medicaid and the Child Health Plan Plus are, who is eligible and how to apply. The webpage is available in both English and Spanish. The advocacy center also hosts community fairs and enrollment days in an attempt to capture eligible families.

Other Denver-based organizations won grants as well, including the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless ($33,559), the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center ($49,993) and the Colorado Alliance for Health Equity and Practice ($41,877).

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