Critical Needs Fund Supports Children and Young Adults in Foster Care

PR Newswire

SUNRISE, Fla., May 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- To help stabilize Florida's Child Welfare system and prevent placement disruptions during the COVID-19 outbreak, Sunshine Health and Community Based Care Integrated Care (CBC Integrated Health) provided $220,000 to support children in foster care and young adults who have aged out of foster care.

The funding was made available through an application process and distributed directly to young adults living independently, residential group care facilities, and medical/therapeutic foster parents that serve children in the Child Welfare system.

"More than 40 percent of the foster parents who reached out for help reported their employment was impacted by COVID-19," said Neiko Shea, Sunshine Health's Vice President of Child Welfare Programs. "We knew we had to act quickly to support caregivers during this uncertain time and keep critical services intact to prevent especially vulnerable children in foster care from being displaced."

Sunshine Health and CBC Integrated Health work together to serve children in, or who have been adopted from, Florida's Child Welfare system through the Sunshine Health Child Welfare Specialty Plan.

How the fund helped:

Much of the funding, about $103,000, was distributed to group care facilities that serve high-risk youth. Together, these facilities and providers are serving more than 200 children.
Approximately $44,000 was provided to 88 young adults, between the ages of 18 and 21, who are at the critical juncture of transitioning from foster care to independent living.
An additional $73,000 was given to specialized therapeutic and medical foster caregivers, who are licensed to provide advanced care to children with critical needs.

"During this time of uncertainty and critical health concern, we were pleased to have this dedicated fund in place as it allowed us to act quickly to get much needed resources directly to vulnerable young adults and to those caring for our most medically vulnerable children," said Glen Casel, CEO of CBC Integrated Health. "These homes provide a safety net for our kids all year round. We are happy to be there for them when they need us."

Foster homes, youth and facilities throughout the state received assistance through the Fund, including those covered under the lead agency areas of Big Bend Community Based Care, Brevard Family Partnership, ChildNet, Children's Network of Southwest Florida, Citrus Family Services Network, Communities Connected for Kids, Community Partnership for Children, Eckerd Youth Alternatives, Embrace Families Community Based Care, Families First Network, Family Integrity Program, Family Support Services of North Florida, Heartland for Children, Kids Central, Kids First of Florida, Partnership for Strong Families, and Safe Children Coalition.

About Sunshine Health
Headquartered in Sunrise and with offices across the state, Sunshine Health is among the largest healthcare plans in Florida. Offering coordinated care and a network of support for our members, Sunshine Health is transforming the health of the community, one person at a time. Sunshine Health is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise. We offer government-sponsored managed care through Medicaid, Long Term Care, the Health Insurance Marketplace (Ambetter) and Medicare (Allwell). Sunshine Health is now affiliated with WellCare Health Plan's Florida health plans, including Staywell Health Plan and WellCare of Florida Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans. Our specialty plans include the Child Welfare Specialty Plan serving children in or adopted from the state's Child Welfare system; and the Staywell Specialty Health Plan for people living with serious mental illness. We also operate the Children's Medical Services on behalf of the Department of Health, serving children with special healthcare needs. For more information, visit SunshineHealth.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @SunHealthFL.

About Community Based Care Integrated Healthcare (CBC Integrated Health) LLC
Headquartered in Orlando, CBC Integrated Health is a venture operated in partnership with J
no Capital, Embrace Families Inc. and 15 additional community based care lead agencies in Florida. CBC Integrated Health delivers critical coordination between the Florida Medicaid Sunshine Health Child Welfare Specialty Plan, service providers, and the child welfare clients directly served by the lead agencies throughout the state of Florida.

About the Child Welfare Specialty Plan Reinvestment Fund
The Child Welfare Specialty Plan Reinvestment Fund was created in 2017 by the partners of the Sunshine Health Child Welfare Specialty Plan, Sunshine Health and Community Based Care Integrated Health (CBC Integrated Health). The specialty health plan is a Florida Medicaid Managed Medical Assistance Program designed to provide services to Florida Medicaid-eligible children under the age of 21 years who have an open case in the Florida Safe Families Network (FSFN) and Florida Medicaid-eligible children who have been adopted through the state's child welfare system and are receiving a state adoption subsidy. The Child Welfare Specialty Plan is administered by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), which contracts with Sunshine Health to serve this specialty population. Sunshine Health sub-contracts with Community Based Care Integrated Health (CBCIH) to perform critical functions of the Child Welfare Specialty Plan.

The Fund is designed to proactively address the need to increase system capacity, bolster the provider network and fill needs not covered by Medicaid. To date, the Fund has invested over $1.7 million to strengthen the state's child welfare system, including $300,000 dedicated to providing orthodontic services for youth in foster care. The Fund is managed on behalf of the partners by Embrace Families Foundation, Inc.

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