Catalyst Center Awarded 5-Year Cooperative Agreement to Advance Financing of Care for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs

The five-year cooperative agreement is part of an initiative titled Advancing Systems of Services for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN). The initiative's goal is to improve the health and well-being of CYSHCN and their families by establishing a network of centers that focus on three core health system components: access to the patient/family centered medical home, transition into adult health care systems, and the Catalyst Center's focus: adoption of health care financing models that improve care and outcomes while achieving cost savings. The three centers within the network will collaborate to support state Title V programs, family leadership organizations, health care providers and other stakeholders.

Since 2005 the Catalyst Center has focused on how health care coverage for CYSHCN is financed across the country and provided technical assistance and expertise to state agencies and other stakeholders.This latest cooperative agreement is the fourth competitive round of funding awarded to the Catalyst Center project team by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) Division of Services for Children with Special Health Needs within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) .

This project (U1TMC31757) is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $500,000, with no financing by nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government; Project Officer Sarah Beth McLellan.

Conversations about Innovative and Promising Practices in Pediatric Medical Home Implementation

The National Center for Medical Home Implementation (NCMHI), developed a pre-recorded, two-episode e-Learning series to provide participants information on innovative and promising practices in family-centered medical home implementation and advancement. Throughout the e-Learning series, faculty discuss tools and strategies to implement and advance the family-centered medical home, including tips to develop partnerships at the clinic, community, and systems levels. Measurement tools and sustainability strategies are discussed, and resources suggested throughout each episode have been compiled.

NCMHI also has a helpful companion report that features 14 of 21 Innovative and Promising Practices from the NCMHI Innovative and Promising Practices in Pediatric Medical Home Implementation online database. This summary report is for pediatric clinicians, Maternal and Child Health Title V / Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs programs, family/caregivers, and other pediatric health stakeholders interested in innovative and replicable strategies in pediatric medical home.

A new Child Trends report provides a framework for state agencies and other stakeholders to review and improve systems that support CYSHCN. Services that these youth and their families use are spread across multiple agencies and systems, which can make it difficult to get the help they need. This report points to the need for new tools to help parents and families.

The Catalyst Center, the National Center for Health Insurance Coverage and Financing of Care for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs, is supported by HRSA of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U41MC13618, Health Insurance and Financing/CSHCN ($473,000 annually). This information or content and conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. LCDR Leticia Manning, MPH, MCHB/HRSA Project Officer.