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January 31, 2012

To: Education Committee

From: Aubrey Mancuso, Policy Coordinator

RE:  Support for LB 1020 , the Nebraska Coordinated School Health Act

Voices for Children supports LB 1020 to expand the availability of school-based health centers with a particular emphasis on medically underserved areas and schools with high populations of low-income students.  A child’s health is critical to educational participation.  Health provides the foundation for school readiness, academic success and overall child well-being. Continuous access to quality and affordable care should not be a privilege but a guarantee for all children in our state.  School-based health centers will increase access to care and improve the health of children in Nebraska.   We believe that school-based health centers can attend to unmet physical and emotional health needs that may create barriers to learning for children.  School-based health centers:

• Have been shown to reduce Medicaid costs, specifically in emergency room expenditures[i]
• Have been shown to increase the availability of preventative care[ii]
• Can be especially effective venues for helping children and families  manage chronic illnesses, such as asthma and diabetes[iii]
• Can increase access to health care for children in low-income and underserved areas of the state
• Can increase access to mental health and dental care for children
• Can help to keep children healthy and ready to learn

LB 1020 is a step toward ensuring more children in our state are able to access the physical and behavioral health care they need.  We urge the committee to advance LB 1020.  Thank you.

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