By Lisa Pilnik, Margot Cronin-Furman, and Vikki Wachino, on behalf of the Health and Reentry Project (HARP)
http://www.childfamilypolicy.com/
Health care is essential for all children and adolescents, but can be especially important for youth involved in the justice system. Young people who have experienced recent incarceration are more likely than their peers to have physical and mental health conditions such as asthma, hypertension (high blood pressure), anxiety and depression. Research has also linked incarceration with poorer health in adulthood, ranging from physical limitations to mental health conditions.
Many youth who are incarcerated may be eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, but in the past, these programs generally did not cover services during incarceration, and some states disenrolled youth who were committed to juvenile justice facilities, making it harder for them to access care when they returned to their communities. Policies included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (CAA) and effective January 1, 2025, help ensure that youth can receive needed services by authorizing Medicaid and CHIP to cover screening, diagnostic, and case management services for youth starting 30 days prior to release from incarceration. Youth justice leaders have identified the changes to Medicaid and CHIP as a way to strengthen efforts to ensure that youth are connected to community based services and that gaps in services are minimized during transitions.
The Health and Reentry Project (HARP) has created many resources to help stakeholders understand these policy changes and implement them in ways that can best support youth and strengthen communities. HARP’s most recent report, developed with input from the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ), shares an overview of the CAA policy changes, information on the health needs and outcomes of young people who experience incarceration, and examples of how this policy is being implemented in juvenile justice systems in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Massachusetts. The report highlights three key implementation strategies, based on the experiences of the states profiled:
- Engagement and collaboration with community providers and agencies across sectors;
- Creating processes to ensure eligible youth are enrolled in Medicaid promptly and can access all appropriate services (including administrative steps to ensure services will be covered and paid for by Medicaid); and
- Early and continuity-focused planning for release so that there are no gaps in needed services when youth return to their communities.
These strategies for expanding access to and continuity of health care services are also consistent with CJJ’s Core Principles, and best practices and requirements in the youth justice field generally, including a focus on early and comprehensive transition planning, cross-sector collaboration, and ensuring communities have a full continuum of care.
Stakeholders in the justice and health systems, as well as service providers, advocates, and community members, including those with relevant personal experiences, can help ensure these new policies fulfill their promise by:
- Learning more about the CAA provisions and what relevant steps are already being taken to implement them in your state; including encouraging a discussion of the topic by your juvenile justice State Advisory Group (SAG);
- Sharing the resources linked above with relevant partners, or connecting adult justice system leaders to materials created specifically for them, including an operational checklist, an overview of key implementation elements, and Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) documents created for jails and state prison systems
- Contributing your own knowledge by working with partners across sectors or participating in relevant focus or advisory groups and supporting engagement of individuals with lived expertise in reentry policy planning and implementation;
- Contacting HARP if your state needs technical assistance or has questions about implementation.
HARP, in partnership with Georgetown University’s Center for Youth Justice, will also be hosting a webinar to discuss this topic on September 17th, at 3pm ET. Learn more and register here.