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Welcome to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) Web page on health services for children in foster care.
From this page you can download or print a copy of Working Together: Health Services for Children in Foster Care.
Also, information on health services for children in foster care will be posted here. This may include links to research documents, health-related initiatives by OCFS, training opportunities, or resources to learn more about specific medical conditions.
Children entering foster care experience higher rates of physical and emotional problems than children in the general population. This high level of need can be attributed to many factors:
- the pervasive effects of abuse or neglect,
- inadequate health care before entry into care,
- the inherent stress of out-of-home placement,
- movement between settings that result in interruptions in health services.
Activities that support children's health are essential to attain the outcomes of well-being, safety and permanency identified in the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA). OCFS has a strong commitment to supporting our local departments of social services and voluntary child care agencies as they address all aspects of health services for the children in their care. We anticipate that this site will be a useful mechanism for sharing information that supports the well-being of children in foster care.
Note: 09-OCFS-ADM-15: Medicaid Coverage for Final-Discharged Youth 18 to 21 Years of Age is now available in Working Together: Health Services for Children in Foster Care.
The standardized letters (Attachments 1, 2, 1A, and 2A of the ADM) provide youth discharged from foster care with information about Medicaid provisions under the federal Chafee Act and New York law. The ADM also highlights the responsibility of the case manager/planner/child’s caseworker and an identified contact person to provide assistance in obtaining documents related to a youth’s eligibility for Medicaid.