Healthy Children

The benefits of beginning and living a healthy life are enormous and long lasting. The consequences of beginning life unhealthy can be lifelong and costly. To safeguard our physical, social and emotional health, we need accessible and affordable health care. Particularly important is a healthy start prenatally and from birth. Children should have the supports and services necessary to live full, healthy and productive lives. It is our desire that all children are healthy as measured by:

• Increase in the percentage of pregnancies that are intended.
• Reduction in the number and percentage of subsequent pregnancies that occur within two years of the birth of the last baby.
• Increase in the percentage of pregnant mothers with access to and use of comprehensive health care in the first trimester.
• Increase in the percentage of babies born healthy (i.e., full-term babies weighing 5.5 pounds or more, born to mothers who did not smoke, drink alcohol or use illegal drugs during pregnancy).
• Reduction in the number and rate of substance exposed newborns (e.g., fetal alcohol and other drugs).
• Reduction in the neonatal and postnatal mortality rates.
• Reduction in the incidence rate of untreated or unresolved maternal depression.
• Increase in the percentage of children screened and receiving supports necessary for identified developmental delays and special health and developmental needs.
• Increase in the percentage of children appropriately immunized by the age of five.
• Increase in the percentage of children with vision and hearing problems detected and corrected by the time of entry into kindergarten.
• Reduction in the child morbidity rate.
• Increase in the percentage of children and families with access to appropriate health care and who can get needed medical care.
• Increase in the percentage of children and families with health coverage.
• Reduction in the rate of obesity.
• Increase in the percentage of children with acceptable BMI (i.e., Body Mass Index) scores.
• Increase in the percent of children and parents whose behavioral mental health needs are met.

If these positive outcomes can be achieved, when Florida's infants and young children become older we will impact spending and save taxpayer resources by:

• Reducing the growth rate of emergency room use and costs for primary care.
• Reducing the percentage growth rate in special education placements and costs.
• Reducing the growth rate of costs associated with specialized medical care for children.

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