This brief examines the timing of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) enrollment relative to timing of engagement with child welfare services for children in Florida and Kentucky. The analysis covers children involved in child welfare systems from 2017-2021. Medicaid funds essential health and behavioral services for children from low-income families, including services that can prevent the need for child welfare engagement. Understanding how and when families engage with multiple public systems can help improve the utility of these programs for families and inform the policies that help families access the supports they need.
Key Points
- Close to two-thirds of children were enrolled in Medicaid before or at the time of their earliest child welfare report.
- Black and White children were most likely to be enrolled in Medicaid prior to child welfare reports compared to other racial groups.
- Younger children are more often enrolled in Medicaid prior to being reported to child welfare than older children.
- Children with disabilities were less often enrolled in Medicaid prior to child welfare report.
- Medicaid coverage prior to child welfare involvement was higher among children with reports of neglect and medical neglect, compared to other maltreatment types.
- These results suggest areas for further research, specifically in understanding how utilization of Medicaid-funded services changes before and after involvement in child welfare systems.
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