Aetna Grants $9.3M to Support Behavioral Health for Youth in Foster Care

Aetna’s Medicaid plan in West Virginia has granted $9.3 million to 10 community-based organizations to support behavioral health and social care needs for children in foster care.

The funding from Aetna Better Health of West Virginia builds on the payer’s commitment to help residential facilities prepare children and their biological or foster families to transition to home- or community-based settings.

The community-based organizations receiving the funding are working to support children with serious emotional disorders (CSED) and their families after they have transitioned.

“Aetna’s latest funding will primarily support local behavioral health services, such as in-home therapy and crisis intervention for children and families, with the goal of keeping kids at home and in their community,” Todd White, chief executive officer of Aetna Better Health of West Virginia, said in the press release.

Aetna Better Health of West Virginia is the managed care organization for the state’s Specialized Managed Care for Children and Youth contract, which covers physical and behavioral healthcare services for youth in foster care and people receiving adoption assistance. The contract also covers care for children in the CSED waiver program, launched by the payer for West Virginians in March 2020.

The CSED waiver program provides eligible children and teens with serious behavioral or mental health needs with intensive behavioral health services and support. The program aims to help youth with emotional disorders stay with their families and in their homes while receiving necessary healthcare services to improve their wellbeing.

“West Virginia is enabling more children with a CSED waiver to live in a caring family environment with the opportunity to build loving relationships while receiving needed behavioral health treatment locally,” Kathy Szafran, executive director of Mountain Health Promise at Aetna Better Health of West Virginia, said.

“Building community capacity and educating biological and foster families to support these kids at home, especially in the rural areas that make up most of the state, helps to keep kids and their families together, allowing them the time to heal and grow.”

The payer’s funding will also support community-based organizations that address social determinants of health by improving access to holistic care, boosting service capacity, and strengthening workforce development.

The recipients have plans to expand prenatal education programs, establish scholarships for nursing students, and develop learning facilities offering virtual and in-person training for healthcare professionals. In addition, the organizations plan to launch community care clinics on school campuses and promote programs that address chronic care management, food insecurity, and access to care

The 10 residential and community-based service providers receiving funding include:

• Board of Child Care
• NUSkool Scholars LLC
• KVC West Virginia, a subsidy of KVC Health Systems
• Lily’s Place
• St. Mary’s Medical Center
• Marshall Health/Department of Family Medicine
• Facing Hunger Foodbank, Inc.
• CAMC Foundation, Inc.
• Community Care of West Virginia
• Williamson Health and Wellness Center

“There is a vast need for nurses and other clinical positions across the U.S. and throughout West Virginia,” Kristi K. Arrowood, executive director of St. Mary’s Medical Center Foundation, stated. “Aetna’s investment in our nursing school will allow us to expand and renovate our learning center, upgrade equipment, and provide nursing scholarships that will increase class sizes and expedite more clinical specialists into local communities.”

Aetna and its parent company CVS Health have prioritized improving mental and behavioral healthcare for adolescents.

The payers committed to decreasing the suicide rate among members by 20 percent by 2025. In July 2022, Aetna announced plans to expand its partnership with Psych Hub, a mental health education platform. The expansion will increase provider education and training surrounding suicide prevention and offer clinical outreach to high-risk adolescents and their families.

A recent report from CVS Health found that the payer saw a 15.7 percent reduction in the suicide rate between 2019 and early 2022, but behavioral health among adolescents was falling behind.