This project is funded as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s “Research in Transforming Health and Health Care Systems” program, which seeks to build the evidence base on the potential effects of policies or policy changes intended to transform health and health care systems. The goal of the project is to inform Medi-Cal policy changes and improve care and delivery for advancements in child health equity. Working with researchers at the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality (GCPI) and project partners at the California Children’s Trust (CCT), the research team will first identify current gaps/disparities in Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, in terms of addressing children’s social and emotional needs. The research team and its partners at GCPI and CCT will then determine promising practices for health systems and health plans to engage, learn from, and integrate support services from community partners and non-traditional/non-clinical providers into Medi-Cal’s delivery of care to advance the social/emotional needs of children and families in California communities. Deliverables will include a project work plan and annual and final narrative and financial reports. The grantee will also produce a paper suitable for publication and supplemental products like issue briefs and factsheets, and present findings at national and state research meetings and to other stakeholder audiences as appropriate—including policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels—as part of the deliverables for this grant.

Principal Investigators

Alvarez headshot
Researcher

Mayra E. Alvarez, M.H.A.

President - The Children's Partnership

Mayra E. Alvarez, M.H.A. is President of The Children's Partnership, a nonprofit advocacy organization working... Read Bio

headshot
Researcher

Indivar Dutta-Gupta

Co-Executive Director - Georgetown Center on Poverty & Inequality

Indivar Dutta-Gupta is Co-Executive Director at the Georgetown Center on Poverty & Inequality where he leads w... Read Bio

Grant number: 77258
Grant Period: 5/1/20 – 4/30/22
Budget: $250,000

Publications:

Care Coordination for Children in Medi-Cal
California Children Trust and The Children's Partnership | June 2021