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PITTSBURGH (January 11, 2007) — UPMC for You has been selected by the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) to develop a program designed to improve access to physical and behavioral health care for children in foster care in Allegheny County. UPMC for You, the Medical Assistance program of UPMC Health Plan, was one of 11 managed care organizations across the country selected by CHCS to be part of a national collaborative. The intent of the collaborative is to develop and pilot promising approaches to meet the health and behavioral care needs of children and youth in the child welfare system. UPMC for You will work in partnership with Community Care Behavioral Health and the Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families to coordinate care for children in foster care. The two-year pilot program will begin in early 2007. "I think we are uniquely positioned to develop a program that improves the quality of care for children and youth in the Allegheny County foster care system and can also be a model program for the rest of Pennsylvania and beyond," said John G. Lovelace, Vice President, Medical Assistance Program, UPMC Health Plan. In its decision to choose UPMC for You, CHCS noted that this program could have "a significant and positive impact" children involved in child welfare in Pennsylvania. Up to two-thirds of children entering foster care have behavioral or emotional problems. Access to physical and behavioral health services for children in foster care varies drastically across the country. According to Child Trends, a nonprofit, nonpartisan national research organization, children in foster care are more likely than other children to have a limiting physical, learning or mental health condition, or to be in poor or fair health. They are also more likely to exhibit high levels of behavioral and emotional problems. Under this initiative, Community Care hopes to be able to raise the well-child care level for foster children who are new to the system as well as for those being transferred within the system. By providing health screenings for children new to the system, and also arranging for continuity of care for foster children who are moving to new homes, it is believed that both the behavioral and physical health outcomes for these children will improve. In addition to UPMC Health Plan, the managed care organizations chosen for the collaborative include CareOregon, Connecticut Behavioral Health Partnership, Health Net of California, Magellan of Florida, The Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership, Mid Rogue IPA (Oregon), Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, Priority Partners MCO (Maryland), Volunteer State Health Plan (Tennessee), and Wraparound Milwaukee. For more information on the collaborative to improve care for children in the child welfare system, visit www.chcs.org. CHCS is a national non-profit organization based in New Jersey that is devoted to improving the quality of health services for beneficiaries served by publicly financed care, especially those with chronic illnesses and disabilities. Its work focuses on three main goals — improving health care quality, reducing racial and ethnic disparities and integrating acute and long-term care. About UPMC Health Plan
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