Nebraska Partner Helps Youth Leaving Foster Care Receive Health Care

Project Everlast, the Initiative's partnership with the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, has created a collaboration with One World Community Health Center in Omaha, NE. to help improve health care outcomes for youth in foster care. This partnership, as well as a similar collaboration with Charles Drew Health Center, was formed as a result of information received from members of the Nebraska Foster Youth Council. Many members reported lacking access to health care, having no medical insurance, and a general lack of knowledge of their health care needs. Some youth reported having huge outstanding medical bills, either because they didn't know how to access financial assistance resources or because they rely on emergency departments for their health care.

This anecdotal information is mirrored in our their own data collection efforts. In an April, 2010 survey of 85 local young people, 45% reported having no medical insurance coverage. Furthermore, 30% reported needing medical care in the past 6 months but not seeking it, either because they couldn't pay or because they didn't know where to go.

One World Health Center and the Charles Drew Health Center have each appointed or hired a Youth Navigator to serve as a friendly face and first point of contact to help young people assess their health care needs, access financial assistance services, and make the necessary appointments with doctors, dentists, and/or mental health services. They also have dollars to help youth pay for physicals and other health care services.

Read the article recently featured in the Omaha World Herald.  Click here to see a PDF of the article.