Performing Outreach with Limited Resources: CKF Grantees' Success and Challenges Over Three Years

This report synthesizes descriptions of the outreach efforts supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Covering Kids & Families® (CKF) program, highlighting the successes and lessons learned from these programs. We combine quantitative and qualitative data from CKF grantees to analyze trends in their use of media and in-person outreach. While CKF grantees faced funding and staffing limitations, demand for their services was high due to decreases in state-funded outreach efforts. The grantees responded by finding innovative ways to stretch and supplement their resources, such as partnering with other organizations to perform outreach or tailoring their outreach efforts to reach specific populations. Given the evidence that outreach efforts have a positive effect on enrollment (Kincheloe, Frates and Brown, 2007), this information is especially pertinent in light of an ongoing focus at both the federal and state level on children’s enrollment in public coverage programs.