On May 30th, NC InCK partnered with the Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DJJDP) to open referrals to NC InCK care management services for all juvenile court counselors in NC InCK’s five counties – Alamance, Durham, Granville, Orange, and Vance. For the first time, court counselors working with juvenile justice-involved youth will be able to complete a simple referral form so that more youths can receive NC InCK care management with a guardian’s consent.
Each month, NC InCK links data between NC Medicaid and DJJDP as part of our process of prioritizing children for care management. NC InCK hopes warm referrals from court counselors may increase the number of juvenile justice-involved youth receiving services.
By the Numbers: Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth We Hope NC InCK Will Serve
Across NC InCK’s five counties, approximately 950 youths interact with DJJDP in some form each year. About 600 of those youths have health insurance through Medicaid, making them candidates for NC InCK’s services.
Additionally, about 50 youths per year are in an out-of-home placement in a juvenile detention center or Youth Development Center. These youths are very likely to need enhanced behavioral health supports during and after their commitment.
NC InCK Training for Court Counselors
NC InCK hopes that more youths involved in juvenile justice can benefit from care management services. To engage more of these individuals and their families, NC InCK is working with three juvenile justice districts-Districts 9, 14, and 15. This work is aimed at helping court counselors understand the NC InCK model, recognize families who may benefit from these resources, and easily refer families that are interested to NC InCK.
This May, NC InCK staff traveled to all three regions where they trained 26 court counselors and leaders on the NC InCK model, examples of care, and how to make referrals. NC InCK’s Integration Consultant Judy Lawrence, who is based in the DJJDP, led these trainings and maintains coordination with the districts. After making a referral, District 15 Juvenile Court Counselor Matthew Rierson shared, “It was a very simple referral process and they were able to reach out to the family in a timely manner. I felt the training gave me enough information to confidently explain the program to the parent before making a referral.”
Applying Lessons Learned Statewide
NC InCK will continue to prioritize juvenile justice-involved youth and their families. Juvenile Justice is one of NC InCK’s 10 Core Child Service Areas. All Care Managers in the NC InCK model receive training on the juvenile justice process, recommendations for supporting and engaging juvenile justice-involved families, and have access to ongoing, as needed, support from Judy and fellow integration consultants while working with juvenile justice-involved youth and their families.
We hope to share whether this new referral process increases engagement among juvenile justice-involved youth and to communicate lessons learned with our partners at NC Medicaid, Local Management Entities, and Prepaid Health Plans. With success, we can build more systems statewide that better connect youths with juvenile justice involvement to care management resources that meet their needs. NC InCK also hopes to learn if care management improves connections to health, education, and social services for juvenile justice-involved youth, potentially reducing the risk of out of home placement and preventing future interactions with the DJJDP system.
Judy Lawrence has served as an Integration Consultant with North Carolina Integrated Care for Kids (NC InCK) based with North Carolina Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DJJDP) since November 2021. This role focuses on integrating the supports and resources provided to DJJDP-involved youth and their families across multiple core youth service areas.