The following is a statement from the Venice Family Clinic.
Venice Family Clinic, a nonprofit community health center serving 45,000 people in need from the Santa Monica Mountains through the South Bay, issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) announcement that it plans to restrict access to community health care, critical early education and other programs for immigrant families. The agency’s action changes the definition of “federal public benefit” for HHS under the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) to include community health center programs, Head Start and other health-related programs that serve low-income individuals and families. Dr. Mitesh Popat, Venice Family Clinic CEO, said the following:
“This expanded definition of what can be classified as a federal public benefit is another assault on our nation’s immigrant communities. It is designed to sow fear and confusion among immigrant families to prevent them seeking health care from community health centers, like Venice Family Clinic, and enrolling their children in Early Head Start, no matter what their entire family’s legal status may be.
“HHS’ decision will endanger public health in Los Angeles and around the country by restricting access to comprehensive care because our entire community’s health depends, in part, on the health of each individual. This decision will also result in children and families losing the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty through Venice Family Clinic’s Early Head Start program and all other Head Start programs.
“As a federally qualified community health center, our mandate is to serve all people in need in our service area regardless of their ability to pay. We don’t ask people their immigration status, nor do we have any obligation to do so, so we do not know how many of our patients may be undocumented. Moreover, HHS agencies have not provided guidance on how to implement this decision, so we don’t really know what it means for us operationally.
“But we do know the benefits of community health centers and Early Head Start programs: By providing comprehensive health care to people in need, community health centers improve overall community health and promote health equity. They address health care disparities and ensure all individuals, even those with limited financial resources, can get the quality care that we all need to thrive. Children enrolled in Early Head Start perform better on cognitive, social and emotional development measures and have better health outcomes because of the services they receive and their parents’ involvement in the program.
“We call on Congress and the courts to override HHS’ assault on immigrant families to ensure that children and their families can continue to access programs that benefit the entire community.”
