Adolescent Detainees and Medicaid – Kelleher, Cuellar

When juveniles are arrested, a maze of agencies bears legal responsibility for providing their health and mental health care. The rules under which Federal and State agencies operate are so confusing that administrators from one agency are often unaware of the rules at another. Yet all agencies involved have an interest in coordinating their efforts because of the potential for even higher costs in the form of recidivism and more treatment expenditures under Medicaid, the major health insurer of juvenile delinquents. Poorly understood rules have often led to improper termination of benefits under Medicaid. The Adolescent Detainees and Medicaid (ADAM) study sought to document the nature of the problem by conducting a nationally representative survey of Medicaid and community juvenile justice agencies. These agencies serve a large population, considering that approximately 330,000 youth are detained annually in the US. The survey's findings were somewhat surprising: only a minority of agencies who responded said they had an active policy of Medicaid disenrollment. But, even if those agencies did not actively disenroll youth, some made little effort to connect youth to the Medicaid coverage for which they were eligible. Poor communication and coordination was evident. The survey identified several ways for policymakers to eliminate confusion and enhance access to care for young offenders.

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Last modified: June 1, 2006
©2006 MacArthur Foundation Network on Mental Health Policy Research
Last Revised: June 2006