Supporting Youth with Disabilities Transitioning Out of Foster Care Virtual Summit

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) invites you to attend Supporting Youth with Disabilities Transitioning Out of Foster Care – a two-day virtual summit to share promising practices and collaborate on solutions for addressing challenges faced by state Medicaid agencies and their partners in supporting youth with disabilities transitioning out of foster care.

Every year, over 20,000 youth transition out of the state foster care system into independent adulthood due to reaching the age of majority.  Youth transitioning out of foster care may experience gaps in health care, housing instability, increased mental health issues, and substance use, and limited employment opportunities.  State Medicaid agencies play an integral role in supporting youth with disabilities transitioning out of foster care because Medicaid is a primary source of health coverage for youth in, and transitioning from, foster care.  At the same time, there are broad health and social care challenges when assisting youth to transition out of the foster care system and navigate the wide range of cross-system programs and regulations.  Successful transition out of foster care works best when systems act together to support youth long before they transition out.

This summit is open to the public and will focus on strategies for state Medicaid agencies and their partner agencies and will cover the following topics:

1. Continuity of Care
2. Continuity of Medicaid Coverage
3. Socio-Cultural Supports
4. Employment

Through this series of interactive sessions, participants will:

Goal 1: Convene with state agencies, federal agency representatives, national associations, county agencies, individuals with disabilities who were previously in foster care, and other stakeholders to collaborate, generate new ideas, and discuss best practices related to challenges faced by state Medicaid programs and their partners.

Goal 2: Identify and discuss the current needs and interests in the field.

Goal 3: Participate and engage through interactive exercises, discussion of current trends, challenges, research questions, improvement strategies, and sharing of resources.

Guest speakers from various state Medicaid agencies, partner agencies, organizations that work with this target population, and former foster youth will share their insights and experiences during the summit.

Event Dates:  August 18-19, 2021

Dates and Times:

Session 1: Wednesday, August 18^th, 11:30 AM-1:30 PM ET

• • Register here

Session 1 will focus on the importance of continuity of services in supporting youth with disabilities transitioning out of foster care. Spotlights:

• Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
• Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System
• Got Transition

Session 2: Wednesday, August 18^th, 2:30- 4:30 PM ET

• • Register here

Session 2 will focus on the importance of continuity of Medicaid coverage in supporting youth with disabilities transitioning out of foster care. Spotlights:

• CMS Medicaid and CHIP Coverage Learning Collaborative
• New York Department of Health
• Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing

Session 3: Thursday, August 19^th, 11:30 AM-1:00 PM ET

• • Register here

Session 3 will focus on the importance of socio-cultural supports in supporting youth with disabilities transitioning out of foster care.  Spotlight:

• North Carolina Division of Health Benefits and Cumberland County Department of Social Services

Session 4: Thursday, August 19^th, 2:30-4:30 PM ET

• • Register here

Session 4 will focus on the importance of employment supports in supporting youth with disabilities transitioning out of foster care. Spotlights:

• Tennessee Division of TennCare
• Project SEARCH

Please note: if you would like to attend all of the sessions, you will need to register for each session individually using the links above.

Please contact [email protected] with any questions.