Children in foster care are often served by multiple public systems, including Medicaid, child welfare, and behavioral health, which means information about their medical, behavioral, and social needs and the services they receive typically resides in various data systems. This can impact the quality of care provided to children in foster care, as well as their outcomes. Given that children in foster care are prescribed psychotropic medications more often than other children in Medicaid, it is exceedingly important that providers serving these children have a comprehensive picture of their needs and the services they use. To provide more effective oversight and monitoring of psychotropic medication use among these children, the public agencies and providers that serve them must have access to a range of relevant data collected by various child-serving systems.

This webinar will explore Oregon and Rhode Island‘s successful efforts to develop and implement cross-system data-sharing mechanisms for better oversight and monitoring of psychotropic medication use among children and youth in foster care. Presenters from both states will describe (1) how meaningful data sharing relationships were achieved; (2) how data are used internally for oversight and monitoring and externally for accountability; and (3) the lessons learned that can inform other states seeking to utilize data from multiple systems to improve psychotropic medication oversight and monitoring.

Presenters

  • Colleen Caron, Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Family Services
  • Leon Saunders, Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Family Services
  • Ted Williams, Oregon Health Authority