More Than 24,000 Children Now Have Health Coverage Since ‘Cover All Kids’ Initiative Expanded NJ FamilyCare Eligibility in January 2023

August 9, 2023

(TRENTON) – As part of Governor Murphy’s ongoing Cover All Kids initiative, the New Jersey Department of Human Services is making available $250,000 grants to organizations to provide education, outreach, and application assistance to low-income and immigrant communities to help get uninsured kids who are eligible for NJ FamilyCare enrolled in the state’s publicly funded health insurance program.

 “This grant program continues the Murphy Administration’s efforts to expand health care access to all New Jersey kids and to get uninsured kids who are eligible for NJ FamilyCare, covered. Ensuring access to healthcare services for New Jersey children will pay health and economic dividends across their lives,” said Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman.

Cover All Kids provides comprehensive health coverage through NJ FamilyCare to all income-eligible children in New Jersey who are under 19 years old, regardless of immigration status.

Since the launch of Cover All Kids in 2021, more than 86,000 New Jersey children who were eligible but not enrolled are now insured through NJ FamilyCare. 

Since January 2023, when Cover All Kids expanded coverage to all income-eligible children regardless of immigration status, more than 24,000 kids now have NJ FamilyCare coverage.

“More kids in New Jersey now have access to primary care, dental, vision and mental health coverage and other benefits through NJ FamilyCare, and we know there are more we need to reach. Partnering with organizations that are trusted in the community will help us connect more eligible families to health coverage,” added Commissioner Adelman.

The Department’s Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services will review grant proposals and make up to six grant awards in the fall. Grant applicants will need to demonstrate that they have established relationships with the communities they serve, and experience working with the target populations, including undocumented immigrant populations.

“We want eligible families to apply for health coverage, so they can protect the health of their children. More kids who were uninsured now have health coverage because of Cover All Kids, and we look forward to partnering with trusted organizations to continue to remove barriers to health care. We are doing everything we can to eliminate the fear or distrust that can keep families from seeking services they qualify for,” said Assistant Commissioner Jennifer Langer Jacobs who directs the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services that oversees NJ FamilyCare.

The selected grantees will be expected to identify and use innovative and/or best practices for targeted community outreach and enrollment; engage families and caregivers of uninsured and/or undocumented children and provide application assistance; promote health equity and build trust between immigrant communities and the NJ FamilyCare program through culturally competent and language accessible outreach and education; and improve the health literacy of New Jersey families with regard to the benefits of having health care coverage and the importance of maintaining and utilizing the benefits NJ FamilyCare has to offer. This will build on outreach efforts already underway, such as targeted mailings to key community partners, like food pantries, libraries, family success centers, local health departments, and others.

Grant applicants must submit a statement of Intent to Apply by Aug. 11, 2023. Grant proposals must be submitted by Sept. 1, 2023. For more information about the grants, click here.

The Cover All Kids initiative was created to guarantee comprehensive health coverage to all uninsured children in New Jersey. The initiative was launched in two phases.

Phase 1 of the Cover All Kids campaign eliminated the 90-day waiting period for children to get coverage after enrolling in the New Jersey Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and eliminating premiums families would have paid for children enrolled in CHIP.  

Phase 2 of the campaign expanded eligibility requirements, ensuring all income-eligible children under 19 years old can get health insurance coverage regardless of immigration status. As of January 1, standard coverage is now available for children of undocumented status who otherwise meet the same requirements as all other children in the Medicaid program.

To learn more about Cover All Kids, visit here.

To see if you qualify for NJ Family Care, visit here or call 1-800-701-0710 (TTY: 711).