HARRISBURG, Pa. Existing
Head Start providers will use these resources to serve an additional
estimated 2,500 children .

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63215. Richman announced today.

Without changes to modernize and improve the purchase and delivery of
services, more than 300,000 people would have been forced out of the Medical
Assistance program. For more information
about MetLife Foundation, please visit http://www.

About VSA arts
Founded in 1974 as an affiliate of the John F.

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newscom. The Blue Foundation
for a Healthy Florida, and its parent, BCBSF, are independent licensees of the
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue
Cross and Blue Shield companies.

CONTACT: Terry E.

* STAGES St. Recognizing the arts' contribution to the health, vitality , and
development of our communities, the Foundation is committed to increasing
access to the arts and promoting diversity and inclusion.

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"States across the country are making very difficult choices this year,"
Richman said.
The following ten organizations will receive grants up to $15,000 to
continue their work in creating inclusive learning environments that engage
students of all abilities:

* Deaf West Theatre (North Hollywood, Calif.

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, The Blue Foundation for a Healthy
Florida, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida's (BCBSF) philanthropic
affiliate, recently awarded United Cerebral Palsy of Central Florida a grant
for $46,000 for two years to increase the availability of mental health
counseling for disabled children and their families.

The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida and its parent, Blue Cross and
Blue Shield of Florida, are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue
Shield Association. Included among the initiatives
are: increased efforts to flag suspicious claims; audits to identify
duplicate payments and catch claims that should have been submitted
separately rather than bundled into one claim; and increased data
exchange with health insurers, pharmacies and benefit managers;
-- Place limits on certain health care services and expand the use of co-
payments for adult Medicaid clients and those on General Assistance
(pregnant women and children will be exempt from outpatient limits).us (keyword: budget) or by calling (717) 787-4592.

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(Logo: http://www .) for "In-School Workshops"
and "ASL Story Time," programs that promote cultural and theatrical
experiences that are culturally relevant, linguistically appropriate,
and fully accessible for deaf and hearing children from all walks of
life.

* Tampa Museum of Art (Tampa , Fla.) for "Access the Arts," a program to
provide inclusive instruction and participation in musical theater that
develops students' creativity and imagination, as well as motor and
communication skills.

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"Our counseling program provides families
the support and assistance needed to cope and to strengthen the parent-child
relationship.
"The administration worked to preserve and maintain children's services, to
protect the eligibility of all those now receiving services and to meet
anticipated future demand. "Here in Pennsylvania, we promised we would not, and in this
budget proposal did not, leave vulnerable families unprotected. Johnson or Stacey Ward , Pennsylvania Department of
Public Welfare, +1-717-787-4592.) for "City Theatre Artsbridge," a
program for students to create and perform an original theater piece
that integrates visual theater techniques.

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Grant Awarded to Increase Funds for Mental Health Counseling at United Cerebral Palsy's Pine Hills Center

UCP Celebrates 50 Years of Serving Central Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. The Blue Foundation
annually awards up to $1 million in grants during two grant cycles."
Under the proposed restructuring plan, which includes a 6.state.pa.

* City Theatre Company (Pittsburgh, Pa. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts, VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization dedicated
to the participation of people with disabilities in the arts and society.

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com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050112/NEW019LOGO )
The grant will provide funding for a part-time counselor to offer an
additional 60 counseling sessions each month at UCP's newest Center, located
in Pine Hills -- an identified low-income area with a per capita income of
$16,777.

The new spending plan calls for additional
investments in some of Governor Rendell's key programs by:

-- Continuing the Rendell Administration's effort to reduce the waiting
list for mental retardation services by providing sufficient funds to
provide services for 910 individuals, almost double the number of
people added to the waiting list last year;
-- Subsidizing child care to benefit 1,540 low-income children and help
their parents achieve economic self-sufficiency.
Within these outpatient limits, consumers will have the flexibility to
choose services to meet their individual needs;
-- Implement a plan of cost sharing under which higher income families
with disabled children eligible for Medical Assistance would be
required to pay a monthly premium, based on a sliding scale;
- - Implement a series of initiatives to reduce the growth of MA drug
costs including: development of a preferred drug list, updating
payments to pharmacies for generic drugs and a revised payment
methodology for brand name drugs;
-- Provide a modest rate increase for providers .

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We are very pleased that The Blue Foundation grant will help us
reach more of these families in need. "In
order to make sure that our most vulnerable residents continue to receive
essential health care services, we restructured and modernized many of our
programs to achieve necessary savings and to reflect some of the policies
already implemented in other states.

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9 billion General Fund budget by $612 million in state funds, which will
allow the agency to serve nearly 100,000 additional people across all programs
during the next fiscal year.8 percent
increase in Medicaid spending, DPW will:

-- Fully implement ACCESS Plus, a program designed to improve disease and
primary care case management;
-- Further strengthen initiatives to reduce fraud and abuse and increase
recoveries from third-party payers.) for "Partners in Art," an outreach
program for six Hillsborough County schools that uses the creative
processes of painting and photography to raise awareness and
appreciation of community diversity.
"It is important to recognize , applaud, and support organizations that
successfully involve all students in programs designed to foster an
environment that creates awareness, understanding, and respect for everyone,"
said Soula Antoniou, president of VSA arts.

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7 million people already being served.) for "The Artist Residency
Project," a residency program in inclusive educational practices for
kindergarten-grade 12 that begins with professional development in
learning strategies and activities for teachers and teaching artists.) for "Access to
Theatre," an after-school program and summer camp that uses all aspects
of theater as an educational tool to help youth learn in a non-
traditional setting.

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UCP's Supportive Counseling program addresses the challenges and
issues facing families as they care for their children with special health
needs. Despite the many challenges we face this year, we
successfully followed those guiding principles." This initiative is a funding
opportunity designed to encourage arts organizations to strengthen
partnerships with local public schools through the creation or enhancement of
accessible education programs.

* Kids on the Block (Portland , Ore.

* The Providence Black Repertory Company (Providence, R.metlife.

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For more information on The Blue Foundation
for a Healthy Florida, please visit its web site at
http://www.
Funds are allocated to create more slots to help ensure that low-
income families do not face lengthy waiting periods to receive
subsidized child care and to help stabilize the payment levels per
child for programs serving vulnerable infants, toddlers and
preschoolers;
-- Making a major investment in the effort to rebalance long-term care by
providing services to an additional 4,353 people through waiver
services in the community; dramatically reducing the time it takes to
apply and receive services; and expanding the number of counties in
the popular Community Choice program;
-- Providing funds to support cost of living increases for direct care
workers who provide behavioral health, mental retardation and
disability services in the community. The goal is to develop teaching practices that
enable more people with disabilities to experience the social development and
artistic opportunities provided through arts learning.) for "Understanding Physical
Disabilities and Preventing Childhood Injury," a disability awareness
program using the power of puppetry to encourage acceptance and
inclusion of children with disabilities.

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Through strategic grantmaking, The
Blue Foundation supports programs that increase access to quality health-
related services for uninsured and underserved Floridians.
As in other states, soaring health care costs, declining federal funds and
the growing number of people in need have created large budget gaps in
Pennsylvania's Medical Assistance (Medicaid) program. Arts Organizations Advance Inclusive Education Programs for
Students With Disabilities

WASHINGTON, VSA arts and MetLife Foundation today
announced the awardees for "Arts Connect All.

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VSA arts and MetLife Foundation Announce 'Arts Connect All' Awardees

* Center Stage Associates (Baltimore, Md.vsarts.

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, Under Pennsylvania Governor Edward
G. Louis (St. Currently, five million people participate in VSA arts programs
each year through a network of affiliates nationwide and in more than 60
countries around the world.

National and international organizations serving people with general disabilities or a range of disabilities .

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The next
Request for Proposals deadline is March 18. For an application, please call
1-800-477 -3736, ext.

The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida is a separate, philanthropic
affiliate of BCBSF incorporated in the state of Florida. These funds will also encourage Head Start
programs to establish partnerships with school districts and other
child care providers in order to provide the most effective and
comprehensive services for Pennsylvania children . Louis, Mo.

A distinguished panel of professionals, Ann-Ellen Lesser, director, AE-L
Projects; Gordon Sasaki, artist educator, Museum of Modern Art; and Barbara
Shepherd, director of national partnerships -- education, John F. To learn more about VSA arts, please visit
http://www.

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bluefoundationfl . The Governor has
consistently pledged to do everything possible to maintain eligibility for the
1. This budget
will meet anticipated demand, while making significant investments in Governor
Rendell's priorities.

* Partners for Youth with Disabilities (Boston, Mass. We join VSA arts in
applauding the winning organizations for their commitment and exemplary work
and commend VSA arts for its national leadership in promoting arts access and
inclusion," commented Sibyl Jacobson , president of MetLife Foundation.

About MetLife Foundation
MetLife Foundation was established by MetLife to support various
educational, health and welfare, and civic and cultural organizations across
the country.

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Rendell Budget Preserves Protection for Vulnerable Citizens By Increasing Funds and Modernizing Programs

"This is a prudent budget that allows us to preserve a full scope of
essential health care services for those who need them most," Richman said."
The proposed spending plan increases the Department of Public Welfare's
$7."
An overview of the DPW budget is available online at
http://www.dpw.

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Rendell's proposed 2005-06 budget, health care benefits for Pennsylvania's
most vulnerable citizens -- including children, people with disabilities , the
low-income and the elderly -- will be preserved, while achieving necessary
cost savings, Public Welfare Secretary Estelle B.org.

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These funds will allow
providers to increase the salary of direct care workers, which may
help them reduce turnover rates.
"This budget does require shared sacrifice," said Secretary Richman.

* National Theatre of the Deaf (West Hartford, Conn.

* Young Audiences of Atlanta (Atlanta, Ga.
"We are happy to support organizations that create opportunities for
everyone to experience and learn through the arts.org .

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United Cerebral Palsy of
Central Florida is celebrating 50 years of serving the needs of children with
disabilities and their families in the metro Orlando area. The program reflects a family-centered, community-based and coordinated
service delivery system focused on special needs issues and mental health.org . Providers must compete with other
businesses for employees and retaining these direct care workers is a
key component of providing quality care to vulnerable clients;
-- Enhancing early learning by an additional investment of $15 million
targeted to match the federally funded Head Start program.I. Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts, reviewed and evaluated the entries.

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"
The United Cerebral Palsy grant is one of 10, totaling $532,112, that The
Blue Foundation will present this winter to nonprofit health clinics and
community outreach programs across Florida. This is the second
major expansion of child care under Governor Rendell's leadership. VSA
arts provides educators, parents, and artists with resources and tools they
can use to support arts programming in their schools and communities;
showcases the accomplishments of visual and performing artists with
disabilities; and promotes increased access to the arts for people with
disabilities.

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"Children with disabilities are much more likely to be neglected and
abused than children without disabilities because of the greater physical,
economic, emotional and social demands on their families," said Terri
Chastain, director of development.) for "The Little
Theatre of the Deaf," a program that provides educational partnerships
with schools , communities, and students to promote awareness of Deaf
Culture and exposure to American Sign Language.) for "Encounter," a residency
program for high school students that uses theater as a medium for
learning, community building, and creative self-expression.) for "Tell It
Like It Is!," a theater music program where students create an original
piece to educate peers about important issues for students with
disabilities.