Children’s Health Access and Medical Program (CHAMP), an initiative of the National Health Foundation, launched in 1997 to address the high number of uninsured children in Los Angeles and five other Southern California counties. In collaboration with six core organizations (the Hospital Association of Southern California, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Los Angeles County Office of Education and the Los Angeles County Departments of Public Social Services and Health Services) and 11 other organizations, NHF initiated an effort through which low income school children would gain access to appropriate health coverage programs, increasing the likelihood that they could gain access to necessary health care services.

Kaiser Permanente and the California HealthCare Foundation provided seed funding of $150,000 in 1998 to design and begin implementing the program’s first services, CHAMP Trainings. These trainings were designed for those who come in regular contact with uninsured families, in particular individuals from schools, community-based organizations, clinics, hospitals and government agencies. Additional funding from The Ahmanson Foundation, California Community Foundation, PacifiCare Foundation and Tenet Healthcare Foundation, was obtained to train over 5,000 individuals in five counties from 1998 to 2000.

To support the individuals trained and to extend the CHAMP concept to all of California, the California Telehealth & Telemedicine Center provided NHF with almost $300,000 in development funds to create the CHAMP website (www.champ-net.org), which enables NHF to reach a much broader audience. Launched in 2001, CHAMP-Net not only includes the core CHAMP information but also features a calculator to assist with program eligibility screening, an online training module, and other unique features. Continue support from a variety of sources has allowed NHF to continue providing CHAMP Training and to upgrade CHAMP-Net.

To learn more about our CHAMP trainings, what type of classes we offer and when and where it is offered, visit Here.