Georgia State Planning Grant for Justice Involved Youth - Project Abstract for Georgia State Planning Grant Application The Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), Georgia’s State Administrative Agency for Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids (S-CHIP), is applying to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) for a cooperative grant to plan and implement the statutory requirements outlined in section 205 of division G of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024. To achieve the grant goals, DCH will collaborate with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), the state entity responsible for building consensus and unity among Georgia’s diverse and interdependent criminal justice system components. Additionally, DCH plans to subcontract two organizations to support these efforts. The first is the University of Georgia, Carl Vinson Institute of Government (CVIOG), which will assist in planning, coordination, and reporting activities related to the project. The second is CAI, an IT staffing vendor, which will support the gathering, solutioning, scoping and procurement of software and implementation services for an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system. In Georgia, the federal definition of “eligible juvenile” includes two groups of justice-involved youth processed under separate criminal justice systems. The first group consists of youth under 17 or those under 21 who were arrested before turning 17, and are legally defined as juveniles under Georgia law. These youth are arrested and detained, both pre- and post-adjudication, under the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). The second group includes youth aged 17 to 21 and former foster youth up to age 26, who are legally considered adults in Georgia and are incarcerated in Georgia Department of Corrections facilities or in one of the 150 county jails. Based on DCH’s review of DJJ’s existing policies, procedures, and practices related to CMS requirements, the first group is compliant. However, the second group lacks consistent services, with assessment and treatment varying based on the criminal justice jurisdiction where the youth is arrested and convicted. Therefore, the state is requesting a total budget of $4,974,759 to accomplish three project goals to assist in the successful implementation of the CMS requirements: 1) DCH will convene stakeholder meetings across Georgia to develop a coordinated service delivery plan that outlines intake and discharge workflows, provision of health care services in facilities, and case management processes upon release. 2) DCH will develop a standardized assessment tool to evaluate Medicaid and CHIP eligibility before incarceration and upon reentry, ensuring that youth’s healthcare needs are assessed and matched with appropriate services. 3) DCH will implement an EMR system to ensure continuity of care from assessment to treatment and case management upon release, incorporating a cross-referencing data system to verify Medicaid and CHIP eligibility. The overarching goal of these initiatives is to improve the coordination and delivery of health care services to youth within the state correctional system. The initiatives aim to integrate Medicaid and CHIP programs with criminal justice agencies for smoother transitions, implement a standardized assessment tool to capture eligibility and healthcare needs, and establish a secure EMR system to improve coordination, recordkeeping, and compliance across state agencies, especially in rural areas. Together, these initiatives will enhance health care access, quality, and consistency for justice-involved youth across the state of Georgia.
