Project Details
Child Welfare Prepaid Mental Health Plan (CW-PMHP) Evaluation
Description
In 2004, the Florida Legislature authorized Community-Based Care Lead Agencies to provide mental health services through a managed care organization to children who are in the child welfare system. Implemented February 1, 2007 and under a contract with the Agency for Health Care Administration, the resulting Child Welfare Prepaid Mental Health Plan (CW-PMHP) was intended to provide a comprehensive set of mental health services to children who are eligible for Medicaid with open cases in Florida’s HomeSafenet system. The overall purpose of the CW-PMHP Evaluation is to examine the extent to which the mental health needs of children in Florida’s child welfare system are being met by the CW-PMHP.
The evaluation consists of three components: 1) an implementation analysis examining the financial, structural, and clinical aspects of the managed care arrangements employed in the CW-PMHP; 2) a mail survey sent to foster parents to obtain their perspectives regarding the mental health needs of foster children and to document their experiences in accessing mental health services; and 3) a quality of care component utilizing semi-structured interviews and focus groups with parents and service providers to examine access to and appropriateness of services, the adequacy of the service array, consumer engagement, outcomes, and the use of evidence-based programs and practices. Current geographical areas of focus include Citrus, St. Johns, and Orange counties. As the CW-PMHP matures, additional geographic areas will be included in the study. The intent of this study is to improve the mental health care provided to children in Florida's child welfare system by providing process and outcome data to the State of Florida in order to facilitate mid-course refinements in the implementation of the Child Welfare Prepaid Mental Health Plan.