Foster Care

New instructions on Medi-Cal enrollment for former foster care children

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DHCS issued a letter outlining the handling of former foster care youth in the Mandatory Coverage Group (MCG) and Optional Coverage Group (OCG) for Medi-Cal applications and enrollment.  Applicants in these categories are supposed to be provided with a simplified eligibility determination and enrollment process through the use of self-attestation.  Instructions, frequently asked questions, and the application form are included with the letter.

DHCS defines MCG as those youth who were receiving Medi-Cal in foster care under the responsibility of any state of tribe on their 18th birthday or a later age.  OCG includes youth that were not receiving Medi-Cal benefits while in foster care on their 18th birthday and are between ages 18-21.  DHCS ACWDL 14-41.

ACIN I-42-14: The Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Option Program (8/1/14)

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Introductory information regarding the Approved Relative Caregiver (ARC) Funding Option Program enacted by SB 855.  Relatives who care for a non-federally eligible child in foster care is not eligible to receive foster care payments.  Instead, the relatives can get CalWORKs payments.  The CalWORKs benefits are not a per-child payment, however, but are based on the size of the family as a whole, and are less than the AFDC-FC rate. To address this issue, the Legislature has enacted the ARC Funding Option Program, which gives counties the option to provide funding equal to the basic foster care rate to an approved relative caregiver of a non-federally eligible child. [Download]