West Virginia Outreach Efforts, State Supreme Court May Boost CHIP Enrollment

In West Virginia, primary care clinics, the state Supreme Court and now a five-foot chipmunk have joined forces to enroll more children into the state's CHIP program, the Charleston Gazette reports. Cyndi Thomas, Kanawha County's CHIP outreach coordinator, said that children "are drawn to large, furry mascots," prompting the Community Council of the Kanawha Valley to purchase a large chipmunk suit for child-related events. "If the kids come over, the parents will come over," Thomas said, adding that she and others "ply" them with pamphlets, applications and a toll-free telephone number for the state's CHIP program. West Virginia has enrolled 18,402 children in CHIP as of March 5, Dot Yeager, deputy secretary of the state Department of Administration, said. However, thousands of eligible children still are not enrolled, the Gazette reports. To help combat the problem, the West Virginia Primary Care Association employed 36 individuals who will "fan out" to the state's largest clinics to sign up eligible families, association spokesperson Brian Cunningham said, adding that the group has also promised $25 to smaller clinics for each new child that they enroll in CHIP. "We will also be doing billboards and direct mail to low-income families," he said.

In CHIP's Court
In addition to outreach efforts, the state Supreme Court has ordered county courthouses to boost the visibility of health insurance forms to families. Last November, the court mandated family courts to provide CHIP applications to all families "who come in for whatever reason." The court may also require magistrate court staff members to provide CHIP brochures to parents who ask for domestic violence protective orders, a court spokesperson said. In addition, the court may require family law masters to order parents of uninsured children to apply for the program, force circuit clerks to include CHIP brochures with "do-it-yourself" divorce applications and order circuit judges to require parents to apply for CHIP after resolving abuse or neglect charges, the Gazette reports (Miller, Charleston Gazette, 3/20).