Portman bill to make in-home care services more available to vulnerable youth

A bipartisan effort led by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) aims to improve home-based care services for youth struggling with mental health or medical needs through clarifying Medicaid policy that impacts children.

Therapeutic Family Care (TFC), which places children with serious medical, psychological, emotional and social needs with caregivers who have undergone specialized training to provide in-home services, currently serves approximately 45,000 children nationwide. TFC services are reimbursed by Medicaid and other child welfare programs, but the absence of a federal definition for TFC imperils access and quality.

The Family-Based Care Services Act would establish a clear definition for TFC in an effort to foster accountability for states that offer it, to help identify financing options, and to fuel personnel training and standards.

“This common sense bill will allow vulnerable children to have better access to high-quality foster care,” Portman said. “By improving health care and mental health services for kids with unique needs, we will provide a sense of stability for these children and better equip foster parents to care for them.”

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who introduced the bill with Portman, said it would improve health care and mental health care services while ensuring that services are available for families that need them most.

“By strengthening access to supports for families and foster families to care for children’s unique needs, we can help grow strong families and help vulnerable young people find some stability in their home life, often for the very first time,” Baldwin said.

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) was among the bill’s original cosponsors.