The proposed research will examine the range, adequacy, and impact of state policies affecting family support programs that serve families of children with special health care needs (SHCN). The study uses multilevel methods with the only nationally- and state-representative data on children with special health care needs (the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs) to examine contextual influences of state policies on the functioning of children with SHCN, as measured by school absenteeism, and on the financial and employment- related problems faced by their caregivers. Specifically, the proposed research poses the following questions: 1) Does state-level commitment to family support influence the likelihood of school absenteeism among children and youth with special health care needs?; 2) Are the financial and employment-related impacts of children's special health care needs on families associated with higher school absenteeism?; and 3) Is the relationship between state-level commitment to family support and school absenteeism mediated by the financial and employment-related problems that families experience? The study will potentially provide a foundation for further exploration of the extent to which family support policy at the state level minimizes or exacerbates disparities in functioning and disability among children. ? ? ?
