Good afternoon! We have in-depth reporting on Medi-Cal expansion and what it will mean for San Francisco, as well as some news about schools:
• Early next year, Medi-Cal will open full health coverage to undocumented immigrants aged 26 to 49 in the state. Now, the question is how to convince people to enroll. Rumors, misinformation, and fear of deportation keep many from applying––and understanding the jargon and documentation of the process presents another huge hurdle. “There’s a lot of hoops to jump through,” said Dr. Carina Marquez of UCSF. Marquez and Diane Jones, a nurse, were instrumental in building community health efforts with Unidos en Salud during the pandemic. They believe the city needs promotoras, both for the Latinx and Chinese communities––bilingual outreach workers who can knock on doors, listen to concerns and build trust. And they insist that immigrants will also need expert “navigators” to help people through the process of enrollment.
Mission Local found that two social workers who enroll immigrants in Medi-Cal didn’t even know about the plans for MediCal expansion, nor did staff from organizations purportedly involved in enrollment. “I can be the nicest navigator, but if I have incorrect information I am giving my client, I shouldn’t be trusted,” Jones said. “It’s totally harmful.” San Francisco will begin a pilot project this year with promotoras and navigators from Mission Economic Development Agency, Good Samaritan Family Resource Center, Wu Yee Children’s Services, and Self-Help for the Elderly.
• SFUSD teachers are in the middle of contract negotiations, asking for higher pay, limits on class sizes, adequate staffing, and raises for paraeducators. At an informational picket yesterday, 500 frustrated teachers and staff rallied outside district headquarters. Some held signs: “I teach 161 students,” read one. “I’m 42. I shouldn’t have to live with five other roommates!” read another.
Overwork, burnout, and inadequate wages are common grievances among teachers in the wake of the pandemic. San Francisco’s teachers are also dealing with the catastrophic failure of the school district’s payroll system, which has cost thousands of teachers millions of dollars in delayed paychecks and snarled them in tax problems. Negotiations on the union’s seven proposals continue.
• Meanwhile, over at Lowell High School, there’s a new “closed campus protocol.” In the wake of brawls at the Stonestown Mall, students must wear ID at all times, and are no longer allowed to come and go from campus during school hours. A letter from Principal Mike Jones stated that the campus would “reopen” once there was “85% attendance, passing all classes, less than 5% tardies and no disciplinary referrals.”
Students were unhappy with the rules that will keep them from getting lunch off-campus. Alan Alvarez, a junior at Lowell, said the new protocols make the school “feel like a prison.” Bella, a freshman, didn’t think the rules make a difference for student safety, emphasizing that “the fight happened outside of school. Violence is still happening outside of school, so this is not going to stop that.”
Stay tuned for more,
Sara
The Latest News
/
Can Medi-Cal sign up 700K undocumented residents?
Next year, California’s Medicaid expansion will cover undocumented adults. Now the question is how to convince people to enroll.
San Francisco teachers picket for a $12K pay raise
More than 500 San Francisco teachers and school staff members rallied for better wages and smaller class sizes.
Lowell High School imposes ‘closed campus protocol’
A letter from the principal says that students may not come and go from the campus during school hours, and must wear ID at all times.
SNAP
