This webpage provides information about changes to Medicaid and CHIP affecting youth in the justice system.
This article on the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) website discusses changes to Medicaid and CHIP affecting justice-involved youth. Since the 1960s, states and local jurisdictions have not been able to draw down federal Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding to treat youth who are held in local detention centers or state-run commitment facilities do to the "Inmate Exclusion" policy. Some of these restrictions are being lifted, and states will now be required to provide some Medicaid/CHIP services to youth returning home after a period of commitment and can choose to provide services for youth who are being held pre-trial. The Consolidated Appropriations Act (2023) made two changes to Medicaid and CHIP. Section 5121 is mandatory and requires states to leverage Medicaid and CHIP to support youth returning home after a period of incarceration by providing Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) and Targeted Case Management (TCM) services. Section 5122 is optional and allows states to offer a broader array of services to youth pre-trial. This statutory change is an opportunity for states and local jurisdictions to deepen their Continuums of Care and ensure that young people are connected to community-based health services so that there is no gap in services as they transition back home. This policy change will impact not only youth in the juvenile justice system, but also those youth housed in adult jails and correctional facilities. The populations impacted include Medicaid-eligible youth under age 21, CHIP-eligible youth under age 19, and former foster youth up to age 26. Finally, OJJDP training and technical assistance providers who support a variety of membership associations are educating their members and stakeholders through webinars, presentations, and materials.