Don't Give Up!

I've been trying for a couple months now to get Aly signed up with Healthy Families, and it has been exhausting!

I downloaded the application, made a checklist of all the things I needed to provide, sent off everything with a check (they ask you to make the first payment up front), and waited to hear we were back on track.

After a couple weeks, I called to check the status of the application, and they informed me that I sent them "a bunch of blank pages." Now, I could see where I might have accidentally sent one blank page by mistake, but this didn't make sense.

Apparently, all paperwork of this nature received by the California Health and Human Services department get scanned in to their system so that any Customer Service Representative can recall your files on their computer and let you know what's happening. I suspect someone fed my documents into the scanner upside down.

So, I faxed two copies each of the "missing" documents, along with a letter asking a supervisor to call me upon receipt of the fax. I stated I was concerned about birth certificates and documents with social security numbers mysteriously disappearing, and I wanted to make sure my papers made it into the right hands and were enough to complete the app.

I never heard back from anyone (do they not have to account for their department's actions?) but did receive a letter another two weeks later saying I did not provide the appropriate paperwork and was being denied. By the way, they still cashed my check!

One of the main requirements is documentation of child support received. My child support is direct deposited, so I have no check stubs, but I do receive a monthly statement from (get this) the Health and Human Services Department (says so right on the top) showing all the support received.

In spite of the fact that this statement is produced by the same agency, it is not considered appropriate documentation!  You need a copy of the court order (my order for Aly is pretty old and I get more than that amount currently) or a letter from the other parent (which #1 could be falsified, unlike the statement, and #2 could be impossible to obtain if you are like us and don't know where the person is).

So I had to fax out-of-date information with yet another letter stating how urgent it was that she get this insurance immediately.

Her physical and mental health is crumbling before my eyes, I already pay $270 per month that I can barely afford for my own insurance (it is not available through my work), and the system--supposedly in place to help children like Aly not fall through the cracks--seems to be set up to confuse and frustrate parents so they will give up!

Parents - a lot of systems are like this. They reward the few that educate themselves on their rights and options, are stubborn and tenacious, and don't give up.

Is it a lot of work? Yes. Does it hardly seem worth it? Yes. Should you try anyway? Absolutely. If you can reach the finish line, your family will save valuable money that can be put towards other necessary resources. We owe it to our kids to at least give it our best shot.

A lot of parenting involves being realistic about a tough road ahead and slowly but surely making it down that road. Don't give up - we can do it!