California Program on Access to Care California Program on Access to Care UC Berkeley School of Publick Health University of California Office of the President

CPAC Priorities and Approaches

The California Program on Access to Care (CPAC) is an applied policy research program established by the University of California at the request of the California State Legislature. CPAC addresses issues related to healthcare access for low-income populations, paying particular attention to immigrant and agricultural workers and their families.

The CPAC Advisory Committee includes representatives from state legislative policy committees, state administrative departments, and university faculty. The University commits $1 million annually to provide core funding for this effort. CPAC receives supplemental funding from California foundations and various state and federal sources for special projects.

CPAC priorities include::

  • Assisting with the implementation of California's Title XXI Healthy Families Program;
  • Addressing issues related to the working poor and access to health care services, with special focus on the impact of welfare reform and changes in the Medi-Cal program;
  • Addressing concerns raised by state officials regarding the impact of various state and federal reforms on the healthcare of immigrant populations and their access to care;
  • Supporting the development and evaluation of rural health care delivery models, including those established under the Healthy Families Program's Rural Demonstration Projects.

CPAC's objectives include:

  • Supporting independent, quality research to enhance an understanding of the need for the effective delivery of health care services to low-income populations, including working poor and immigrant families;
  • Facilitating relationships between state representatives and university researchers to improve the application of research expertise to policy deliberations.

CPAC's activities include:

  • Supervising a competitive policy research grants program in areas related to the Healthy Families Program, rural health, immigrant health, and expansion of care for the working poor, and other low-income populations. (the latest Request for Proposals and summaries of recently funded research are available)
  • Providing technical assistance to the state legislature and executive branch agencies by drawing on the expertise of University faculty and affiliated researchers;
  • Convening experts and other stakeholders to assess the implementation of the Healthy Families Program, health care coverage for the working poor, and other issue areas related to access to health care;
  • Maintaining a database/roster of university faculty with expertise on health care issues related to low-income, immigrant, and rural populations, as well as on mental health, drug and alcohol interventions, and children and youth;
  • Disseminating research findings and related policy information through public policy briefings, publications, and electronic and print media; and
  • Coordinating with the Welfare Policy Research Project, established by CPRC under the auspices of the CalWORKS legislation.