SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITIES
#HEALTH 4 ALL
The Sustainable Rural Communities Project works to ensure equal access to health care for California's farm worker and rural indigent population through a three-part strategy of health status data development, analysis and dissemination; public policy analysis and discussion; and community outreach, education and advocacy.
This project addresses the systemic causes of our communities’ poverty, poor health and degraded environment. We coordinate with other advocates on a local, regional, and statewide strategy to craft large-scale solutions around healthcare for all, environmental justice issues (land use, unmet transit needs, water quality), foster more accountable and inclusive governance, and direct financial resources that address the priorities of the SRCP to rural and disadvantaged communities.
CRLAF has been instrumental in leading the collaborative fight for expanded health care for the undocumented in rural California, with particular emphasis on Fresno and Sacramento Counties, including preservation of the Medically Indigent Services Program (MISP) and most recently, Specialty Care.
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CRLAF's Sustainable Rural Communities Project works with the California Endowment on the #Health4All campaign, increasing awareness of the positive effects of undocumented workers in our economy and highlighting the communities’ overall lack of access. CRLAF was involved throughout the budget committee process in the California initiative called Young Adult Expansion, modeled after Senate Bill 75. This legislation passed on January 1, 2020, expanding eligibility for full-scope Medi-Cal coverage to all children under the age 19 and young adults under the age of 26, regardless of immigration status.
CRLAF also recently prioritized and led a budget request to fund a Farmworker Health Study to be completed by UC Merced to update a 20-year study of farmworker health data. The state granted final approval for this 3-year study starting in 2021. This data will be extremely important in informing public policy and identifying the most pressing needs for farmworker health and safety.
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Another notable win was on June 2, 2015, when the California State Senate approved an initial expansion of health coverage to California’s undocumented population.