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Ohio Medicaid Authorizes $10 Million to Help At-risk Youth Across Ohio

Grants will help create and expand mental health service in 59 Ohio counties

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM), in partnership with the State of Ohio’s Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Center of Excellence at Case Western Reserve University, (COE) is helping to launch and expand access to a critical mental health service in 59 counties, which results in a total of 76 out of the 88 counties in Ohio having access to an Intensive Home-Based Treatment program.  ODM authorized $10 million to support a much-needed mental health service called Intensive Home-Based Treatment (IHBT).

IHBT is an intensive, time-limited mental health service for youth with serious emotional disabilities and their families, provided in the home, school and community where the youth lives, with the goal of safely maintaining the youth in the least restrictive, most normative environment.  IHBT involves an individual clinician or team of providers delivering a comprehensive set of clinical and rehabilitative services that are designed to intensively treat the young person’s mental health conditions that significantly impair their functioning – often kids who need IHBT significant challenges in multiple areas of their lives, including school, home, and the community. Some young people who need IHBT are involved with or at risk of being involved with the juvenile justice and child protection systems. 

Access to IHBT services is one element of a comprehensive and robust system of care and is also one of the core services included in OhioRISE, the state’s transformative program aimed at helping children and youth with the most complex behavioral health challenges.

“There is nothing more important than the mental health of Ohio’s young people,” ODM Director Maureen Corcoran said.  “Expanding access to IHBT puts help within reach for vulnerable kids and families who may not be able to get care when they need it today.”

A number of types of IHBT have been proven to help young people served by the child protection system, and some of these are part of the Department of Children and Youth’s Title IV-E Prevention Plan and Continuum of Care work.

"Intensive Home-Based Treatment (IHBT) is a vital lifeline for vulnerable kids and families, providing support and services to address mental health challenges and promote stability in their lives,” Ohio Department of Children and Youth Director Kara Wente said. “We are excited for the opportunity to see these critical services expand to better support Ohio’s youth in their own homes."

Today, half of Ohio’s counties do not have any access to IHBT, and counties that do have the service report they lack the amount of care they need. Providers will receive grants to develop new IHBT in 33 counties that are service deserts today, and to expand access in an additional 26 counties that have some care but need more.

Each of the IHBT providers receiving grant funds have either already received IHBT certification or will work toward obtaining their IHBT certification through the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addictions Services.  A full list of awardees is available on the Center of Excellence’s website.

“Ohio’s future depends on healthy, thriving children,” Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Director LeeAnne Cornyn. “IHBT is an innovative service that promotes positive development and healthy family functioning, while addressing the serious and complex behavioral health needs of young people and their families. We are proud to be partners in equipping Ohio kids and families with the essential services and supports they need to get well, be well, and stay well.”

The State’s Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Center of Excellence at Case Western Reserve University will provide training, technical assistance, consultation, program implementation support, fidelity monitoring, and evaluating the new services.  

With a network of more than 200,000 active providers, ODM delivers healthcare coverage to more than three million residents of Ohio on a daily basis. Working closely with stakeholders, advocates, medical professionals, and fellow state agencies, the agency continues to find new ways to modernize Medicaid in Ohio.

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