Impact of the Medicaid Program on the Treatment of Status Offenders (From Neither Angels nor Thieves - Studies in Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders, P 663-680, 1982, Joel F Handler and Julie Zatz, ed. - See NCJ-84933)

• NCJ Number: 84951
• Author(s): S S Magnetti
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; National Academies Press
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Available on microfiche as NCJ-84933

Annotation

The effect of Medicaid on status offenders in not uniform throughout the country, but the most pronounced effect is on those status offenders who have been removed from their homes.

Abstract

Medicaid rules frequently require that children must be living out of their homes to be eligible for medical assistance payments, although this varies according to the financial situation of the child and his/her family and how the State implements certain of the eligibility rules. To the extent each State's medical assistance program requires that status offenders must be removed from their homes to be eligible for service, the program may foster inappropriate institutionalization. Some of the program requirements of the Federal statute may in themselves have some impact on the placement of status offenders; i.e., the availability of partial funding for certain institutional services may promote their use. Medicaid frequently will cover the maintenance costs of institutional placements but not of more independent living arrangements, and this funding may continue the use of such institutions when other less restrictive but currently unfunded facilities would be more appropriate. Further, there is some evidence that States may be restricting covered services and eligible groups as a means of reducing their costs for medical assistance programs. Fifteen references are listed. (Author summary modified)