Children's Bureau Express

Opening the Toolbox: Resources for States Seeking to Improve Health Care for Children in Foster Care

Joanne Rawlings-Sekunda. National Academy for State Health Policy. December 1999. 700 pages. $50 ($30 for government and non-profit organizations).

Efforts in Ensuring Health Care to Children in Foster Care: Case Studies of Nine States. Joanne Rawlings-Sekunda et al.. National Academy for State Health Policy. December 1999. 60 pages plus appendices. $35 ($20 for government and non-profit organizations).

These documents are two of nine reports produced by the State Institute on Improving Health Care for Children in Foster Care, a 3-year project to support and encourage interagency collaboration between Medicaid and State child welfare services. Intended for State-level policy makers, other professionals who will find the documents useful are child welfare agency administrators, members of interagency task forces, health care providers, and child advocacy organizations.

The Toolbox publication compiles resource documents used by States in efforts to remove barriers to health care faced by children in foster care. The documents focus on such key elements of the delivery system as case management/tracking (including automated health passport systems), screening and treatment standards, Medicaid managed care enrollment, performance evaluation, training, and release of information. One helpful feature is a side-by-side comparison of screening and treatment standards for children in foster care recommended by the Child Welfare League of America, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Medicaid Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT).

The Case Studies provide an in-depth account of how some States have worked to improve access to health care for foster children. Detailed examinations of some of these efforts provide a sense of the time and effort required to achieve specific results. The nine States included in the report are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, and Utah.

The Institute is funded by the Nathan E. Cummings Foundation and developed and operated by the National Academy of State Health Policy.

For more information or to place an order, contact:
National Academy for State Health Policy
50 Monument Square, Suite 502
Portland, ME 04101
Tel.: 207-874-6524
Fax: 207-874-6527
Email: info@nashp.org
Website: http://www.nashp.org

<—Previous Section <—Previous Article Next Section—>