For Immediate Release:
Contact:
Jayne M. Wick, EVP
Abri Health Plan, Inc.
262-834-1120
jaynewick@abrihealthplan.com
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Thiensville, Wis., August 2, 2005 – Abri Health Plan has been
selected to contract with the WI Department of Health and Family
services for administration of the Allied Services for Healthy
Foster Children Program in Milwaukee County.
Children in foster care, court-ordered Kinship Care, and
subsidized adoption will be eligible to enroll in the program.
The program will include an expanded provider network with a
focus on providers trained in addressing the needs of children
in out-of-home care. The program will feature Health Care
Managers who will develop health care plans and coordinate
healthcare services.
This is the first program of its kind in the United States to
integrate physical and behavioral health in a managed care
environment for children in out-of-home care. The essential
goals of this program are to increase access, improve outcomes,
and provide continuity of care. This program is all about the
kids – focusing on their healthcare needs and improving the
system intended to support those needs.
“Both the child welfare and healthcare systems are very
difficult to navigate. Through integration of providers that
are vested in this community, Abri aims to provide these
children and their families with information to make the
healthcare system more accessible and address each child’s
specific healthcare needs”, according to Jayne Wick, Executive
Vice President of Abri Health Plan. “Education at many
different levels is an important component of this new system,
including educating foster parents on how to access services
and utilize the skills of the health care managers, as well as
educating other aspects of the human services system”.
The Allied Services program was initiated in the 1999-2001
Wisconsin State budget, which authorized the Department of
Health and Family Services to create the Task Force on Health
Care for Children in Out-of-Home Care. The Task Force was
charged with developing a model managed care program that
integrates social, behavioral and physical health needs of
children in out-of-home care in Milwaukee County.
Abri Health Plan, Inc. is a locally-owned and locally-managed
managed care organization serving Medicaid recipients in
Milwaukee, Waukesha and Ozaukee counties.
