According to the Heartland Institute, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will receive almost one million dollars to promote ObamaCare. The program is designed to educate teens to target their families.
The state’s health insurance exchange, Covered California, said that within the $37 million in grants they are using to promote ObamaCare is $990,000 for the LAUSD. The LAUSD describes its program as “Teens trained to be messengers to family members.”
Covered California spokeswoman Sarah Soto-Taylor said. “We have confidence that the model LA Unified brought to the table will be successful in reaching our target population, which includes family members of students.”
Gayle Pollard-Terry, a LAUSD spokesman, stated:
Teens are part of a “pilot” program to test whether young people can be trained as messengers to deliver outreach and limited education to family and friends in and around their homes. Teens will be educating adults that they already know (e.g., family or friends) and not other adults.
Larry Hicks, another spokesman for the LAUSD, defended the program, saying:
At a minimum, grantees will be required to submit to Covered California monthly, quarterly, and annual reports on their activities and progress towards agreed upon outcomes. If project benchmarks are not met, grantees may be required to submit additional ad hoc reports upon Covered California’s request. Grantees will also be required to report any proposed adjustments to their approved outreach and education plan using the information management system… Additionally, field monitors will be assigned to grantees to verify their progress.
He was echoed by Pollard-Terry, who asserted, “This grant is ‘paid in the rear,’ so the funding will come based on performance. The district front-funds positions and we have the ability to start using existing staff for the most part.”
If the funding depends on performance, look out; one-third of LAUSD students never graduate high school.
Photo source: Flickr/Giltronix
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