What is Kids Oneida?

BACKGROUND
Kids Oneida began in 1998 as a special project jointly established by the NYS Office of Mental Health, NYS Department of Health and Oneida County. The first three years of the program were considered the demonstration phase of the project (1998-2001).

The purpose of Kids Oneida is to divert children with serious emotional disturbances (SED) in Oneida County from out-of-home institutional placements and/or shorten the time that children remain in such placements through the use of intensive, flexible community services.

The model used for Kids Oneida replicates the one developed for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Mental Health Services Program for Youth (MHSPY) initiative. The MHSPY model has been used successfully in numerous sites across the United States.

TARGET POPULATION TO BE SERVED

• Residents of Oneida County between the ages of 6 years and 18th birthday who are;
• Deemed at imminent risk of placement or institution by the Oneida County Committee on Appropriate Placement or the Oneida County Department of Social Services Placement Committee and who have;
• DSM-IV mental health diagnosis.

KEY FEATURES OF THE MODEL

• Voluntary enrollment and parent/guardian agreement to access all covered mental health services through Kids Oneida.
• Individualized plans of care developed in partnership with the child and parent(s) and the Kids Oneida individual service coordinator.
• Access to a broad array of community-based mental health services for all Kids Oneida enrollees with an emphasis on community-based services in the least restrictive and most normative environment.
• Customized services with use of flexible funds to addres the child and family's individual needs and strengths, rather than fitting the child into existing categorical services.
• Integrated Community Alternative Network (ICAN), a not-for-profit care management entity, was established in Oneida County (11/97) to operate the Kids Oneida program.
• An open network of Kids Oneida providers.
• Authorization of all covered services through ICAN/Kids Oneida, the not-for-profit care management entity employing care coordinators.
• Kids Oneida is licensed as an OMH outpatient clinic. Through waiver provisions contained in the OMH clinic regulations (Parts 587/588), KO has an expanded outpatient clinic license.
• Kids Oneida is funded through a combination of Oneida County Department of Social Services (OCDSS) and Medicaid funding streams. Most of the funding comes from OCDSS local prevention funds ($2,550 per enrollment child per month). For enrolled children who are eligible to receive Medicaid, Kids Oneida receives and additional monthly case rate from Medicaid mental health monies (1,189 per child per month).
• Medicaid payment is based on a monthly bundled case payment fee. Payment is based on Medicaid recipients receiving a minimum service standard of 6 face-to-face contacts each month. Each enrollee on Medicaid must have an individual plan of care which is authorized by a physician and which documents the need for appropriate services.
• Kids Oneida (KO) in conjunction with Oneida County Department of Mental Health, Oneida County Department of Social Services and the NYS Office of Mental Health developed a quality improvement program. All stakeholders were committed to carefully evaluating the program and sharing lessons learned.