About Us…
Who are Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs?
What is the impact on Wisconsin Families
Program Goal
To assure that children and youth with special health care needs are:
- identified early,
- receive high quality coordinated care, and
- their families receive the supports they need.
The Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Program collaborates with national, state and community-based partners to link children to appropriate services, close service gaps, reduce duplication and develop policies to better serve families.
Who are Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs?
The Program works to improve systems of care for anyone from birth through age 21 with a chronic physical, developmental, behavioral or emotional illness or condition. Some examples include ADHD, asthma, autism spectrum disorders, childhood cancers, cerebral palsy, deaf or blind, diabetes, Down syndrome, heart disease, and mental health conditions.
What is the impact on Wisconsin families?
Nearly 200,000 or 15.3% of Wisconsin children have a special health care need, of which: ” Over 1 in 10 children missed 11 or more days of school due to illness, ” Nearly 1 in 10 families report spending 11 or more hours each week providing or coordinating their child’s care, ” Over one third of families currently insured report their insurance is inadequate, and ” 1 in 5 report spending $1,000 or more each year for out of pocket medical expenses. (Source: Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative. 2005/2006 National Survey of Children with Special Health Needs, Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health website.)
Funding Source
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Public Health, Bureau of Family and Community Health, Family Health Section, Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Program is funded by the Maternal and Child Health Title V Services Block grant, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Service Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services and other funding sources. For more information about the Maternal Child Health Bureau, go to http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/
