Support for Youth Returning From Incarceration
What Child Welfare Leaders Need to Know About Medicaid
A webinar, Collaborating to Support Youth Returning from Incarceration: What Child Welfare Leaders Need to Know about Medicaid, helps child welfare professionals, Medicaid systems and juvenile justice partners maximize collaboration to better serve young people returning to their communities after being incarcerated.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act went into effect on January 1, 2025. Section 5121 requires states to provide certain Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) services — including screenings, assessments and case management — to youth returning home from incarceration. The session discussed how professionals can now use Medicaid for youth health and well-being and features experts from the Center for Health Care Strategies, which is a grantee of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
“The policy change increases access to Medicaid-eligible services that benefit youth, families and communities,” said Joe Ribsam, the Foundation’s director of child welfare and juvenile justice policy and Collaborating to Support Youth Returning from Incarceration moderator.
The session’s other panelists included:
- Elissa Gelber, senior program officer, Center for Health Care Strategies; and
- Liz Buck, senior program officer, Center for Health Care Strategies.
What Medicaid and CHIP Changes Mean for Youth Reentry
Many young people in correctional institutions and other residential settings experience gaps in health care, including gaps in behavioral health care. Youth in correctional institutions who have also spent time in foster care may also have unmet health needs associated with family separation or trauma. Under the new federal requirements, most are eligible for reentry support.
The panelists explored:
- what child welfare leaders and practitioners need to know and do now to improve reentry planning for young people; and
- how to strengthen collaboration among child welfare, Medicaid and juvenile justice agencies to help returning youth get the health services they need.
“Child welfare agencies are key partners in connecting youth with Medicaid-eligible care as they return to their communities from incarceration. Delivering that care requires strong coordination across child welfare, justice and Medicaid systems,” said Ribsam.
More Resources on Leveraging New Medicaid Guidelines
The Center for Health Care Strategies, with support from the Casey Foundation, has produced several resources to help individuals learn more about using Medicaid to support the health and well-being of young people in the justice system:
- A fact sheet, “Collaborating to Support Youth Returning from Incarceration,” highlights how federal Medicaid and CHIP policy changes affect youth returning from incarceration. It outlines key actions that child welfare leaders can take to address this population’s health needs and can be a resource for anyone who plans or provides reentry services for youth.
- A webinar, “Medicaid Opportunities to Support Youth Leaving Incarceration,” provides an overview of the new federal Medicaid legislation and a panel discussion featuring professionals with direct responsibility for implementing the new provisions.
- A webinar, “What Youth Justice Leaders Should Know About Medicaid,” provides guidance on using Medicaid to support youth — under age 21 — involved in the justice system from prevention and diversion through incarceration and reentry.
- A 22-page report, New Medicaid Opportunities to Support Youth Leaving Incarceration, details steps for aligning Medicaid funding with broader community and public safety goals. The report is geared toward efforts in New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah. Its authors have also produced a related four-page policy cheat sheet.
