It's no surprise that in Washington, D.C., as in other cities, child health is closely linked to poverty. Children in low-income communities disproportionately suffer from health risks related to a lack of resources and environmental factors, such as pollution-related asthma, inadequate nutrition and substandard housing. 

Link: "Troubled childhood linked to heart disease as adult" (USA Today)

Health issues not only cause young children needless pain and suffering and prolong school absences, they also impact children's ability to focus and learn at a time when their development is most critical.

A successful early care and education agenda is one that is holistic and includes at its core efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of children. To address the needs of our most vulnerable children, we must find ways to bring solutions directly into the communities where they live and reach parents, guardians and expectant mothers when they most need help.

As a city, we must prioritize a health care system that is affordable, accessible, comprehensive and continuous--reaching children as they grow from the womb through preschool and beyond.

A problem of access

Due to the efforts of many local child health advocacy groups, Washington, D.C. now has one of the highest health care coverage rates in the nation. Most low-income children in the District are covered through Medicaid and SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program).

But access to quality health care continues to be a problem. While most children in the District have a "medical home"-- a primary care provider--they are more likely than children in other cities to have difficulty seeing a specialist, particularly dentists and developmental and mental health specialists. Our most vulnerable young children also face critical gaps in health care due to hurdles related to re-enrollment or recertification. (RAND, 2009.)

Healthy mothers, healthy babies

Teen pregnancies help perpetuate the cycle of poverty that inhibits children from reaching their full potential. Young, low-income mothers often lack access to quality pre- and post-natal care, which instrumental in safeguarding fetal health and establishing breastfeeding, adequate nutrition, and illness and prevention for newborns.

D.C.'s wards 7 and 8 in Anacostia have the highest percentage of low-birth weight infants--approximately 14 percent in 2006. (Office of State Superintendent of Education, 2009.)

Early outreach to expectant mothers and support to new parents as their children grow can help ensure that all children in the District have a strong start in life.

Our agenda

DC Action is committed to working with our partners to improve child and maternal health in the District's low-income communities by supporting:

• Comprehensive, community-based early care and education programs that bundle child health, nutrition, pre- and post-natal services, counseling and other family support services;
• Expanded preconception and early prenatal care for young women, particularly those at risk pregnancies with poor birth outcomes and low birth weight;
• Evidence-based home visitation programs focusing on parenting skills, family support and medical services;
• Programs that facilitate access to health care specialists and assist families with health care enrollment;
• Free and reduced-priced nutritional meals for low-income children in community-based center, District of Columbia Public Schools and charter schools;
• Efforts to increase child immunization rates and education parents on child health and safety; and
• Early intervention for children with developmental disabilities or mental health issues.