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SLO County Health Access Update
Connecting Children Ages 0-5 to Health Care
October 2020
Information and articles from these newsletters are housed on the San Luis Obispo County Health Access website. The website is updated frequently and is intended as a resource for professionals working with children ages 0-5 and their families. Please visit: www.slohealthaccess.org

Updates about pandemic resources are located on pages listed under the Coronavirus tab: www.slohealthaccess.org/coronavirus.html
Local Services Updates
Parents Helping Parents (PHP) supports families of children with special needs in SLO County. The PHP Monthly Events Calendar can now be accessed online! Visit this link to learn about events in English and Spanish: https://padlet.com/phpslo/mhxu95b3t2heg1o
Families now have access to a new support program for applying for Medi-Cal benefits in San Luis Obispo County. Promotores Medi-Cal Outreach Navigators are available to all community members to provide education, outreach and enrollment navigation services for Medi-Cal benefits in English and Spanish.

Families can be referred directly to:
Silvia Santini, Medi-Cal Scheduler/Navigator
(805) 788-8247, Medi-calsupport@cfsslo.org
Note that in order to apply for benefits online the applicant must have an email address. If no email address is available then a hard copy application can be completed.
New Family Therapy Benefit for Children on Medi-Cal
Children who are Medi-Cal members and have risk factors for developing a mental health disorder now have coverage for family therapy services. While before, children could only receive individual treatment with their Medi-Cal coverage, now they can also receive family therapy.

Whole family services are critically important for young children. Family therapy allows providers to address parent-child interactions and family dynamics, support the parent, and teach parents to help the child at home. If you are referring a child for mental health services or helping a family access these services, it is important for them to know that they now have access to family therapy.

Family therapy is also a new way for young children to access therapy without a diagnosis. While children need to meet criteria for diagnosis to access individual therapy, they do not for family therapy. They do need to have at least one risk factor, or for their parent/guardian to have at least one risk factor.

For a Family Therapy Quick Reference Guide from CenCal, click here. Parents can access this benefit by calling The Holman Group at (800) 321-2843.
Home Visiting Provider Resources
Home visiting providers now have the opportunity to share knowledge and best practices for supporting families through a Home Visiting Learning and Practice Innovation Hub. During a time when programs to support resilient families are more important than ever, the Hub provides access to past presentations, upcoming trainings, outreach materials and more. http://first5association.org/california-home-visiting-hub/
Developmental Screening Fact Sheets
Family support staff, social workers, and providers can use these new fact sheets about developmental screening to encourage parents to follow through with well-child visits. The fact sheets are available in both English and Spanish.

If a parent has questions about their child's development, how to access services here in SLO County, or would like a free developmental screening, please refer them to SLO Help Me Grow:
Health Access Information at SLOHealthAccess.org
SLOHealthAccess.org has a wealth of information to help you help families, with local resources related to:
  • Coronavirus Resources    
  • Special Needs    
  • Behavioral Health
  • Immigration: safety and service access  
  • Dental
  • Prescriptions
  • Medi-Cal & Covered CA
  • Transportation
  • Parental Substance Use, and 
  • Resources to help parents advocate for services

General needs and system navigation:
Send families in need of help to their local Family Resource Center. Download the Family Resource Center Directory here

Can't find an answer? 
Let us know and we will find you the information you are looking for. For general questions about health access and health care reform, contact:
Becca Carsel, Health Access Project Director, 
at (805) 674-0776 or becca@carselgroup.com