CCC Testimony: City Council Finance and Health Committee Hearing on Fiscal Year 2015 Preliminary Budget Proposals

Published April, 2014

CCC testified about the Preliminary Budget proposals related to health programs and services for children and families at the City Council Finance and Health Committees Hearing on March 13, 2014.

Our testimony applauded the baselining of funds for health programs and services, including dental vans, obesity prevention programs, asthma initiatives and infant mortality initiative, but also noted that the contracts for these programs expire on June 30, 2014.

CCC urged the Council to work with the Administration to ensure the continued provision of high quality care without disruption for children, by extending the contracts for all of the programs previously funded by the City Council for one year, to give the administration time to develop a procurement plan that gives priority to current quality programs and prevents service disruption.

CCC expressed strong support for the Preliminary Budget proposal to restore funding for immunization clinics. In addition, CCC made several recommendations for the Administration to strengthen health care delivery for families and urged the City Council to support these priorities. These recommendations included increasing investments in both School-based Health Centers and School-based Mental Health clinics, identifying ways to increase the Medicaid take-up rate for children’s oral health, and restoring and baselining funding for EBT technology in farmers’ markets.