THP-Plus/THP+FC Monthly Conference Call Thursday, February 13th: 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.

Agenda Welcome and introductions Medi-Cal Enrollment for Current & Former Foster Youth Guest presenter: Jessica Haspel, Children Now THP+FC Update on the number of providers Update on the location of programs THP-Plus Quarterly report from the THP-Plus Participant Tracking System THP-Plus Capacity Chart Update on advocacy video Sign-On Letter Regarding Relative Caregivers

Health Coverage for Youth in THP-Plus Approximately 650 youth

Medi-Cal Enrollment for Former Foster Youth Guest Presenter: Jessica Haspel, Child Welfare Policy Associate Children Now jhaspel@childrennow.org

Medi-Cal Enrollment for Former Foster Youth The Affordable Care Act extended Medi-Cal to age 26 for youth who were in foster care at age 18 or older. (Effective 1/1/14) California Dept. of Health Care Services issued Informational Letter 14-05 http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi- cal/eligibility/Documents/MEDIL2014/MEDILI14-05.pdf CWDA Desk Aid http://thpplus.org/wp2/wp- content/uploads/2014/02/FFCC-Desk-Aid-3.pdf

CA’s Former Foster Care Children’s (FFCC) Program: Then and Now Former foster youth (FFY) are enrolled in the Medi-Cal coverage group for Former Foster Care Children. Pre-ACA FFY 18-21 eligible for Medi-Cal FFCC coverage CA Bridge Funding FFY turning 21 between 7/1/13 - 12/31/13 maintain Medi-Cal FFCC eligibility until 26 ACA-Jan. 1, 2014 Extension takes full effect! FFY 18-26 are eligible for Medi-Cal FFCC

California’s instructions to counties Counties are instructed to enroll youth who were in foster care at age 18 or older in any state. Until the automated systems are reprogrammed eligibility workers must manually override the system to assign the appropriate aid code to former foster youth 21 or older. No income determination conducted (eligibility is based on being in foster care on 18th birthday, age 18-26, and CA residency). Youth who personally attest to having been in foster care at age 18 should be enrolled in Medi-Cal immediately while county verifies eligibility.

What’s covered for former foster youth under Medi-Cal? Medical care Vision exams Substance abuse treatment Mental health services and counseling Dental care starting in May 2014 Coverage for youth under 21 also includes Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment services (EPSDT).

How do eligible youth sign up? Best way to apply is directly through the county, in-person at the local Medi-Cal office with the MC 250A form: http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/formsandpubs/forms/Forms/mc250a20 14.pdf Children Now developed a list of contacts in each county for Medi-Cal: http://www.childrennow.org/uploads/documents/Coveredtil26_ CountyContactList.pdf Right now, youth are likely to experience significant barriers if they try to apply through Covered CA or online

Children Now’ Coveredtill26 website has tips for when youth apply Former foster youth: should be enrolled in the Former Foster Care Child (FFCC) coverage group should be assigned the “4M” code do NOT have to provide income information do NOT have to fill out the full Medi-Cal application (just MC 250A form) do NOT have to provide proof that they were in foster care at age 18 – the county will verify Additionally, it may help to bring Informational Letter 14-05 and to write down the CA law that expanded coverage (California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 14005.28).

Benefits to enrolling in the former foster youth coverage group Youth eligible for Medi-Cal based on their former foster youth status are enrolled in Medi-Cal under the “4M” aid code. Benefits of Coverage under the “4M” Program: Youth are eligible for fee-for-service Medi-Cal, which means they can get care from any Medi-Cal provider. Youth maintain coverage until age 26 (simplified redetermination process) No income requirements = youth stay covered in Medi-Cal regardless of income changes.

For trainings on the new policy, contact: Additional Resources Children Now launched website to inform foster youth about the Medi-Cal extension: http://coveredtil26.childrennow.org/ For trainings on the new policy, contact: Jessica Haspel, jhaspel@childrennow.org or Fatima Morales, fmorales@childrennow.org California Youth Connection and National Youth Network created educational video on the policy: http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/eligibility/Documents/MEDIL2014/MEDILI14-05.pdf If youth have trouble applying for Medi-Cal they can contact the Foster Care Ombudsman: 1-877-846-1602 or fosteryouthhelp@dss.ca.gov

Upcoming Web seminar on Medi-Cal Extension for former foster youth Children Now and Youth Law Center are hosting a web seminar, “Medi-Cal coverage until age 26 for former foster youth” Thursday, February 27th from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/89054804916685 75233

THP-Plus Foster Care (THP+FC)

THP+FC Provider Growth 2012 2013 2014

Location of THP+FC Housing 1 Del Norte Siskiyou 1 1 Humboldt Location of THP+FC Housing Shasta 3 2 Lassen Tehama 2 2 Plumas Mendocino 1 2 Butte Glenn 1 Sonoma 1 1 Lake 1 Nevada Placer 1 Sutter 1 Yolo 1 2 El Dorado X Sacramento Solano 1 4 Contra Costa San Francisco 2 Alameda 6 1 San Joaquin 1 Stanislaus 4 Santa Clara Santa Cruz 1 1 Merced 1 Mariposa 2 Fresno Monterey 2 1 Tulare San Luis Obispo 1 Santa Barbara 1 X San Bernardino Ventura 3 6 Los Angeles Orange 3 2 Riverside  Counties with high # of NMDs  Counties with high # of NMDs without THP+FC San Diego 3

THP-Plus

THP-Plus Participant Tracking System Quarterly Report Covers period of October 1 – December 31, 2013 Data on sample of 538 THP-Plus participants

Employment Status of THP-Plus Participants Report ending December 31, 2013; 538 participants

Income Status of THP-Plus Participants Average monthly income: $913.81 Average hourly wage: $9.28 51% report receiving at least one form of public benefit 25% report receiving another form of financial support Report ending December 31, 2013; 538 participants

Educational Status of THP-Plus Participants Report ending December 31, 2013; 538 participants

Of those enrolled (38%) in school, what degree are they pursuing? Report ending December 31, 2013; 538 participants

Status of Parenting, Insurance, Permanent Connections and Criminal Justice Involvement 21% of participants are custodial parents 71% report having health insurance 92% report a permanent connection with an adult 6% of participants have been incarcerated or detained in adult criminal justice system since entering THP-Plus 6% of participants have had an adult misdemeanor or felony conviction since entering THP-Plus Report ending December 31, 2013; 538 participants

Changes from 6 months prior, quarter ending 6/30/13 EMPLOYMENT & INCOME Jun. 30, 2013 Dec. 31, 2013 Decrease in percentage reported they were employed 48% 46% Increase in reported hourly wage $9.22 $9.28 Increase in reported average monthly income $895.55 $913.81 Decrease in percentage reported receipt of public benefits 55% 51% Increase in percentage reported receipt of other financial support 19% 25%

Changes from 6 months prior, quarter ending 6/30/13 EDUCATION Jun. 30, 2013 Dec. 31, 2013 Increase in percentage reporting being enrolled in school 35% 38% Increase in percentage reported having graduated from high school 76% 78% ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Jun. 30, 2013 Dec. 31, 2013 Decrease in percentage reported they were custodial parents 23% 21% Decrease in percentage reported they had health insurance 74% 71%

THP-Plus Capacity Chart 28 providers report open beds 10 providers report waiting lists Total of 120 open beds & 70 youth in need of housing THP-Plus Capacity Chart lists providers with open THP-Plus slots, and providers with waiting lists. Also lists contact info so providers can coordinate with one another about referrals.

Clarifications from CDSS Legal: February 2014 The California Department of Social Services has provided the following clarifications regarding accepting out-of-county youth into THP-Plus: Eligible youth may participate in a THP-Plus program in any county with an approved THP-Plus plan. Any county with an approved plan may elect to accept a youth from another county into their program.

thp-plus capacity chart OPEN BEDS WAIT LISTS County Organization # Open Beds Updated Alameda Beyond Emancipation 10 1/14/2014 Fred Finch Youth Center 3 1/9/2014 Contra Costa Contra Costa Co. HSD - Homeless Continuum of Care 1 female bed, 1 gender neutral bed 12/19/2013 El Dorado Tahoe Turning Point 9 1/23/2014 Humboldt Redwood Community Action Agency 5 1/17/2014 Los Angeles Rosemary Children's Services 1 12/17/2013 St. Anne's Marin Alternative Family Services 12/18/2013 Monterey Peacock Acres Napa Progress Foundation 2 Orange Aspiranet 7 New Alternatives Placer Whole Person Learning Riverside 4 12/20/2013 County Organization # Open Beds Updated San Bernardino Aspiranet 6 12/20/2013 San Diego San Diego Youth Services 2 12/18/2013 South Bay Community Services 7 YMCA of San Diego County 1 12/17/2013 San Francisco Edgewood Center for Children and Families 3 slots for youth with host families 2/6/2014 First Place for Youth 1/20/2014 Larkin Street Youth Services Will have open beds in March 1/28/2014 The Salvation Army 8 San Joaquin San Luis Obispo Family Care Network 10 San Mateo Star Vista 5 1/14/2014 Sutter Children's Hope FFA 12/19/2013 Yolo Yolo County DESS Yuba County Organization # on Waitlist Updated Alameda Abode Services 8 12/19/2013 Butte Youth and Family Programs 2 12/18/2013 Youth for Change 1-2 12/17/2013 Imperial Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program 10 Los Angeles C.H.A.I.N. Reaction, Inc. 4 12/21/2013 Richstone Family Center 29 San Gabriel Children's Services 5 12/30/2013 Santa Clara Bill Wilson Center unknown Sonoma TLC Child and Family Services 7 1/9/2014 Ventura Ventura County Child and Family Services

THP-Plus Capacity Chart THP-Plus Capacity Chart available at http://thpplus.org/thp-plus-bed-vacancies/ If you are a THP-Plus provider and have not reported your current bed status to JBF, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/THP-Plus-Capacity-Chart

THp-Plus Advocacy Video John Burton Foundation is developing a 2-3 min. video on THP-Plus: Who does THP-Plus serve? What does THP-Plus provide? Why is THP-Plus necessary? Where would former foster and probation youth be without THP-Plus? In early March JBF will disseminate to providers for their own advocacy use

Sign-on Letter to California State Legislature Regarding Relative Caregivers

Sign-on letter to State Legislature RE: Relative Caregivers Under current foster care funding rules: A relative caregiver receives a foster care benefit only if the child is federally-eligible. If not federally-eligible, relative caregiver applies for state welfare benefit (CalWORKs). If non-federally-eligible child is placed in non-relative foster home or group home, however, they will receive state foster care benefits.

Why Does this matter? By denying relative caregivers foster care benefits, we are placing children into deep poverty  the CalWORKs grant for a single child is equal to just 37% of poverty level!

Inequity in monthly rates Relative Foster Parent Non-Relative Foster Parent Federally-Eligible 15-Year Old $820/month Non-Federally-Eligible 15-Year Old $351/month Non-Federally-Eligible 15-Year Old Who is a Regional Center Client $2,162/month Non-Federally-Eligible Sibling Set of 3 (ages 15, 16 & 17) $714/month $2,460/month

Sign-on to the letter! Sign onto a letter to the California State Legislature asking them to change this arbitrary and irrational foster care funding rule that places many foster children living with relatives into deep poverty. To sign-on, follow this link to enter your organization’s contact information. (Individuals can sign on as well). https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C6S6JFK Deadline to sign on to the letter is TUESDAY, FEB. 18th! For more information about this issue, contact Angie Schwartz at a.schwartz@kids-alliance.org