A federal court has granted final approval of a Settlement Agreement in a class action lawsuit brought against the Director of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.
The Settlement Agreement establishes necessary reforms to ensure that Iowa children with mental health conditions receive intensive home-and community-based behavioral health services in their homes and communities.
Through the settlement agreement process, Iowa HHS has agreed to develop a new array of services through the Responsive Excellent Care for Healthy youth initiative. The REACH initiative is a statewide service array aimed at ensuring youth remain in their communities, and will include care coordination, in-home mental health services, mobile crisis services, as well as a new screening and assessment process, ensuring children with mental health disabilities are screened for appropriate services.
The Agreement details specific strategies and timelines for rolling out these services, expanding provider capacity, and ensuring that services are delivered in the least restrictive environment possible. The Agreement further is supported by a robust framework for establishing effective quality management and accountability systems.
The court’s approval of the Settlement Agreement will significantly improve outcomes for Medicaid-eligible Iowa children and youth and make sure they receive legally required and medically necessary mental health services.
The class action lawsuit was filed in early 2023 on behalf of Medicaid-eligible children under age 21 with serious emotional and behavioral health conditions. The case challenged practices that denied children timely access to intensive community services, resulting in unnecessary institutionalization and harm.
