Displaying 1 - 10 of 23
Abstract
The child welfare system strives to provide children and adolescents in foster care with a safe, nurturing environment through kinship and nonkinship foster care placement with the goal of either reunification with birth parents or adoption. Pediatricians can support families who care for children and adolescents who are fostered and adopted while attending to children’s medical needs and helping each child attain their developmental potential. Although this report primarily focuses on children in the US child welfare system, private and internationally adopted children often have…
Abstract
Children in foster care have greater physical and mental health conditions than children not in foster care. However, little is known about their actual healthcare utilization. This study describes healthcare utilization from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2016 among children in foster care in the greater Houston, Texas area who receive Medicaid coverage through a single Medicaid managed care organization for children in foster care. Enrollment and claims data were used to describe demographic characteristics; outpatient utilization, location and type of encounters; inpatient…
Abstract
This article provides recommendations for adapting the pediatric medical home (PMH) model for health care needs of youth in foster care. Recommendations are based on key informant interviews regarding experiences at an established PMH for youth in foster care. Major clinic recommendations include expanding the PMH framework to include proficiency in Medicaid billing, promoting true interdisciplinary care teams, improving care accessibility via phone consultation, providing a stable place for medical records to be housed, delivering services throughout stages of the child welfare…
RATES OF CHILDREN entering the US foster care system have been on the rise in the last 5 years. On any given day, nearly 443,000 children are in foster care in the US. Neglect, child abuse, and parental drug use are major reasons for foster care placement. Other factors may include parental behavioral health issues, poverty, and domestic violence.
Children in foster care have disproportionately higher rates of physical and behavioral health problems, largely due to having experienced complex childhood trauma and poor access to healthcare. (See Foster care demographics at…
Abstract
Purpose
As teens in foster care prepare for emancipation, health care navigation is often overlooked, as caseworkers address other social needs. This study examined the impact of health care education materials designed for foster youth, called ICare2CHECK. It was hypothesized that ICare2CHECK would increase nonurgent ambulatory health care use and decrease emergency/urgent care use.
Methods
Adolescents (N = 151; aged 16–22 years) were enrolled in ICare2CHECK and received health education materials at their baseline study visit. Surveys were repeated every 3…
Abstract
Approximately one third of children in foster care in the U.S. receive psychotropic medication; however, few studies have evaluated the extent to which either the number or dosage of drugs changes across time. We conducted a retrospective descriptive study of Medicaid files for 30 individuals placed in a foster care system that included an analysis of 10 consecutive visits with a prescribing practitioner spanning 8–14 months. Specifically, we evaluated the data for evidence of deprescribing. Results indicate practitioners changed psychotropic medication during 70% of visits and…
Abstract
Substance-exposed newborns (SENs) are at increased risk of child maltreatment, out-of-home placement, and poor health and developmental outcomes. The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesize existing research on community- and home-based interventions designed to improve parenting and reduce risk of maltreatment for families with SENs, applying a program logic framework. The review includes studies that used preexperimental, quasi-experimental, and experimental designs. Twelve interventions were identified. Of the nine studies that used more rigorous experimental or…
PART I: The role of public health nursing in addressing health care needs of children in foster care
Abstract
Aims and Objectives
The purpose of this study was to describe the role of Public Health Nurses (PHN) addressing the needs of children and adolescents in foster care.
Background
Children in foster care have more physical, mental, dental, developmental health problems than the general pediatric population. National data indicate that between 30%‐80% of children come into foster care with at least one physical health problem.
Design
An online survey was developed to describe PHN day‐to day activities, PHN funding, case load and case management responsibilities.…
Abstract
There are ∼443 000 children in child protective custody (ie, foster care) in the United States. Children in protective custody have more medical, behavioral, and developmental problems that require health care services than the general population. These health problems are compounded by poor information exchange impeding care coordination. Health care providers often do not know which of their patients are in protective custody and are not privy to the critical social history collected by child protective services, including placement history and maltreatment history. Meanwhile,…
Abstract
Importance Physical abuse and neglect affect a significant number of children in the United States. The 2014 Medicaid expansion, in which several states opted to expand their Medicaid programs, is associated with parental financial stability and access to mental health care.
Objective To determine whether Medicaid expansion is associated with changes in physical abuse and neglect rates.
Design, Setting, and Participants This ecological study used state-level National Child Abuse and Neglect…