The U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation have formed a partnership to fund studies that will help health insurance and delivery systems purchasers improve health care for poor children.

AHCPR and the Packard Foundation will award up to $2 million this year for the "Health Care Access, Quality and Insurance for Low-Income Children" effort. The money is expected to support five to eight projects. The two groups plan to spend $6 million on the research projects over the course of three years.

The studies will focus on how managed care and other recent changes in the financing and delivery of health care affect minority children and those with special health care needs, according to AHCPR officials.

Of particular interest is the federal Children's Health Insurance Program for low-income children. CHIP was enacted as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and represents the largest expansion in children's health coverage in more than 30 years ago.

CHIP provides $24 billion to help states offer affordable health insurance to uninsured children in working families that don't qualify for Medicaid but don't have adequate private health insurance.

Grant applications must be received by April 22.

Application instructions can be found at AHCPR's Web site at http://www.ahcpr.gov/fund or the NIH Guide at http://www.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HS-99-005.html

The RFA and application forms also are available from AHCPR's contractor, Equals Three Communications, Inc., 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20814-3015. The telephone number is (301) 656-3100.

AHCPR is the lead agency charged with supporting research designed to improve the quality of health care, reduce its cost and broaden access to essential services.