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• Some report that they could not provide sufficient employment documentation for <br />Medicaid, leaving children uninsured. <br />• Many have not heard of Health Choice, the new health insurance program for low <br />income families. <br />• Some who have applied for Health Choice have been denied because family income <br />was too high. Others chose not to drop their child from other coverage for the six <br />month waiting period to qualify. <br />• Families report that they do receive notice of immunizations and appointments from <br />clinics and schools. <br />• Preventive dental care is a problem because it is not readily available and is <br />expensive. <br />"The school asks us if our children have a dentist, and they send a letter saying that we <br />have to take him to the dentist... We don't take the kids if we don't have to, until <br />something is going on, that it hurts or something. " - OWASA Focus Group Participant <br />Family Support <br />The focus group participants expressed a great desire to provide a home and community <br />environment that supports the growth of their children. Many discussed the language <br />barrier as an impediment to obtaining the services their families need, and seek out child <br />care and ESL classes where they can learn to speak English. Some have struggled with <br />securing the basic necessities to support their families, such as reliable transportation and <br />safe neighborhoods. <br />• Parents expressed great concern around language barriers, both for themselves and <br />their children. <br />• Parents stressed the need for their children to learn English, and fear they will have <br />difficulty helping children when they go to school because of language barriers. <br />• Parents reported that they would attend classes on ways to help their children learn <br />and grow. <br />"Like they say, no one is born a parent. So, if there were classes to show us how to <br />prepare the children according to their growth, it would be important. " - Iglesia Unida <br />de Cristo Focus Group Participant <br />• Some parents revealed that their children have difficulties adjusting to attending child <br />care. <br />• Transportation is a problem for some families, particularly if they found the bus <br />system unfamiliar or unreliable. <br />"I didn't know how to ride the bus and I would walk because I didn't know where it <br />would stop or if it would take me too far. " - Iglesia Unida de Cristo Focus Group <br />Participant <br />• Many residents of Old Well Apartments expressed concerns about safety for their <br />children — some have witnessed violence, altercations and drug activity. <br />12 <br />