Portals from EPSDT
to Adult Supports
Name of Grantee
Title of Grant
Supporting
Transitions for EPSDT Eligible Children in Foster Care with Mental Health
Disorders in the
Type of Grant
Portals
from EPSDT to Adult Supports
Amount of Grant
$499,649
Year Original Funding
Received
2004
Shauna Spencer, Project Director
202-673-4443
Shauna.Spencer@dc.gov
Joyce White, Project Coordinator
Department of Mental Health
Child and Youth Services Division
202-671-4035
Joyce.White@dc.gov
202-687-1312
iaj@georgetown.edu
Steven Lutzky, President
HCBS Strategies, Inc.
202-558-2176
Steve@hcbs.org
Children in foster care with
mental health issues, who are transitioning into adult mental health care.
The roughly 3,000 children in foster care in the
District are at high risk of having mental health disorders. The District
currently lacks mechanisms to assist these children to receive the supportive
services they need as they age out of the foster care system. If these children
do not receive mental health supports, they are dramatically more likely to
experience homelessness, substance abuse, and criminal behavior. Although the
District has made strides in improving mental health services for
EPSDT-eligible children in foster care, the system is complex and lacks
linkages to mental health services offered under the Medicaid Rehabilitation
Option, locally known as Mental Health Rehabilitation Services (MHRS).
The Department of Mental Health (DMH) has worked
closely with Children and Family Services Administration (CFSA) to redesign
services to children in foster care and improve pathways for these children to
access services as they age out of the program. Both agencies have recognized
the pivotal role played by Medicaid in this endeavor. The grant will further
this work toward reviewing current regulations and program operations for
Medicaid-funded mental health services to improve coordination across the range
of services and ensure that as foster care children with mental health
disorders age out of the system, they are still able to access the supportive
services they need.
Grant funds will be used to hire District staff to
conduct much of the work of this initiative.