HEALTHY START

DESCRIPTION
Healthy Start is a health insurance program for low income pregnant women whose household income is at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level. There is no asset limit. Services include case management for the pregnant woman and for her children ages 0-2.

APPLICATION
Apply at DSS regional offices or at community-based agencies that accept applications. DSS offices will only take applications, but community sites will take applications and, if family is eligible, will also provide case management services for pregnant women and their children.

DOWNLOAD AN ELECTRONIC APPLICATION:

http://www.ct.gov/dss/lib/dss/pdfs/w-1e.pdf

ELIGIBILITY
Pregnant woman with income at or below 250% Federal Poverty Level; No asset restriction; Certain employment and child care expenses can be used to reduce applied income; Pregnant woman is counted as two family members when calculating income eligibility (if pregnant with twins, counts as three, etc.); Must be U.S. citizen or have permanent resident status; Women with other types of visas (student, tourist, work visas) are not eligible.

DOCUMENTS
Pregnancy confirmation (from doctor, family planning or other social service agency - test must have been administered on-site); Statement of income and family size (may be self-declared); Social Security number (self-declared); Name and address of absent parent; If working, proof of employment and child care in order to calculate income disregard if gross income is over 250% FPL; If client claims no income, a statement on how she supports herself is required; U.S. citizens must prove citizenship; Other documentation may be required.

HOW TO FIND PROVIDERS IN CONNECTICUT’S COMMUNITY RESOURCES DATABASE:
Search by service name: Healthy Start

SOURCE: Refer database
PREPARED BY: 211Infoline/lb
CONTENT LAST REVIEWED: January2008