BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AJR 10
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AJR 10 (Brownley)
As Introduced March 30, 2011
Majority vote
EDUCATION 7-1
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano, | | |
| |Buchanan, Bonilla, | | |
| |Carter, Eng, Williams | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Halderman | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Supports the school-based health center program authorized
by the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; supports
an appropriation by the United States Congress to fund the
school-based health center program; and, supports the inclusion of
school-based health centers in the reauthorization of the federal
Elementary and Secondary Education Act as an important strategy for
ensuring that pupils are physically and mentally healthy and
therefore ready to learn. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes findings that:
a) School health centers, which operate in 176 schools across
California, are an integral part of the state's health care
delivery system, providing preventative and treatment services
to pupils who may otherwise have no or limited access to health
care;
b) School health centers improve academic achievement by
increasing the physical and mental health status of pupils,
thereby raising attendance rates, reducing dropout rates, and
improving classroom attention and behavior;
c) Despite challenging academic times, many communities across
California have made it a priority to piece together local,
federal, and private money to start and run school health
centers;
d) There is still a high level or unmet need for school health
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centers because many California children do not have access to
high-quality, affordable health care, as shown by the fact that
1.5 million California children were uninsured for at least
part of 2009, which is up 40% from 2007, and by the fact that
one in five California children lack dental coverage;
e) Low-income children and children of color are less likely to
have access to health care, with only 32% of children in
families with incomes below the federal poverty line, 32% of
Latino children, and 42% of African American children having a
"medical home", as compared to 66% of Caucasian children;
f) The Legislature has already demonstrated its strong support
for school health centers through the passage of important
pieces of state legislation, including the Healthy Start
Support Services for Children Act and the Public School Health
Center Support Program; and,
g) The United States Congress authorized a school-based health
center program in the federal Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act, but did not appropriate money to fund it.
2)Resolves that the Legislature supports the school-based health
center program authorized by the federal Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act, as enacted by the United States Congress in
2010.
3)Resolves that the Legislature supports an appropriation by the
United States Congress to fund the school-based health center
program authorized by the federal Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act.
4)Resolves that the Legislature supports policies that include
school-based health centers as a partner in creating a medical
home for all children.
5)Resolves that the Legislature supports the inclusion of
school-based health centers in the reauthorization of the federal
Elementary and Secondary Education Act as an important strategy
for ensuring that pupils are physically and mentally healthy and
therefore ready to learn.
6)Resolves that the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
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States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and
Representative from California in the Congress of the United
States.
FISCAL EFFECT : This resolution is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : According to the California School Health Centers
Association (CSHCA), the first school health centers in California
opened in 1987 in Los Angeles, San Jose, and San Francisco. There
are currently 176 school health centers in California. A vast
majority of school health centers operate on school campuses and 10%
are mobile vans that serve multiple schools. Of the centers located
on school campuses, 27% are in elementary schools, 10% are in middle
schools, 38% are in high schools, and 10% are on mixed-grade
campuses. The majority of communities served are low-income areas
where many children lack health coverage. In school districts with
school health centers, 21.5% of the children live in families with
incomes at or below the federal poverty line in contrast to 15.3% of
the children in districts without health centers.
School health centers are administered by a variety of
organizations, including school districts, Federally Qualified
Health Centers, community health centers, hospitals, county health
departments, and private physician groups. A school health center
will typically include nurse practitioners, nurses, and mental
health care providers as well as part-time physicians and medical
students in training. Lab facilities for routine tests are often
located on the site. Some centers also offer dental care. School
health centers are financed through grants from local and private
sources as well as reimbursements from Child Health and Disability
Prevention (CHDP), Medi-Cal, Family Planning, Access, Care, and
Treatment (PACT) and Healthy Families.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0000306