Resources
State and county resources
- Medi-Cal MC 250A form: The MC 250A is the one-page form youth can use to apply for coverage directly through the county.
- Medi-Cal Eligibility Division Information Letter No. I 23-28 (Apr. 2023): View state guidance issued to counties on processing former foster youth during the unwinding of continuous coverage.
- Medi-Cal All County Welfare Directors Letter No. 14-41 (Feb. 2015) and 14-41E (Aug. 2016): View state guidance (14-41) issued to counties on enrollment in the Former Foster Youth Program and updates (14-41E) made to the guidance.
- All County Letter No. 17-54 (July 2017): View state guidance issued to counties on new requirements to ensure that youth exiting foster care receive uninterrupted Medi-Cal benefits and provides an update regarding the JV-365 form, along with a sample form for complying with the new verification requirements.
- Medi-Cal All County Welfare Directors Letter No. 15-32 (Oct. 2015) and 15-32E (Nov. 2016): View state guidance (15-32) issued to counties regarding standardized notices of action and an informational letter counties must use for the Medi-Cal program for former foster youth. View state guidance (15-32E) issued to counties to clarify the process for ensuring former foster youth receive Medi-Cal coverage regardless of immigration status.
- Medi-Cal All County Welfare Directors Letter No. 15-29 (Sept. 2015) and 15-37 (Nov. 2015): View state guidance issued to counties on how to correct the incorrect eligibility determinations that former foster youth received while applying for health coverage through Covered California here (15-29) and here (15-37).
- Medi-Cal All County Welfare Directors Letter No. 16-20 (Sept. 2016): View state guidance to counties with instructions to ensure foster youth maintain Medi-Cal coverage while they are on the run or missing from foster care.
- All County Information Notice No. I-27-16 (April 2016): View state guidance on the California Dept. of Social Services providing written verification to former foster youth of their time spent in foster care.
- Hospital Presumptive Eligibility (PE) and Former Foster Youth (Sept. 2015): View the newsflash and state guidance issued to hospital PE providers with instructions regarding former foster youth applying for hospital PE.
More resources
County contact list: Find out the best way to sign up for the Medi-Cal program for former foster youth in your county here (last updated December 2020).
Legal resources: Youth Law Center, the Health Consumer Alliance, and National Health Law Program have developed a list of programs that provide legal assistance for people having trouble getting Medi-Cal or other health care services. Click here to download the list.
Webinar on Medi-Cal coverage until age 26 for former foster youth presented by Children Now, the Youth Law Center, and the CA Department of Health Care Services. Watch the video or download presentation.
Coveredtil26 Toolkit: provides sample language and tools for outreach to a variety of audiences, including former foster youth.
Infographic: Medi-Cal until Age 26: Click here to view our infographic on the importance of Medi-Cal coverage for former foster youth in CA.
Infographic: Medicaid until Age 26: Click here to view our infographic on the importance of Medicaid coverage for former foster youth in the U.S.
Flyer for social workers, probation officers, and court staff: Click here to view tips and information on Medi-Cal coverage for former foster youth for social workers, probation officers, foster parents, and court staff.
Flyers about Medi-Cal Dental Coverage for Former Foster Youth: Download and share these flyers that provide information about dental benefits for current and former foster youth and how to access services. English Flyer – Spanish Flyer
Former Foster Youth Share Their Stories
Video: Former foster youth and substance problems
Video: Former foster youth and the future
Media about Medi-Cal coverage for former foster youth
- Medi-Cal: A Lifeline for former foster youth in California, California Health Care Foundation Blog (3/29/17)
- For former foster youth, health coverage until 26 offers ‘chance of survival’ Center for Health Journalism (3/2/17)
- For single mom and her two former foster children, expanded health coverage has proven a lifeline, Center for Health Journalism (2/16/17)
- Progress Lauded for Former Foster Kids, California Healthline (12/4/15)
- For Former Foster Kids, Moving Out of State Can Mean Losing Medicaid, Kaiser Health News (10/20/15)
- Outreach is Key on New Medicaid Guarantees for Aged-Out Foster Youth, The Chronicle of Social Change (10/8/15)
- The Maze of Foster Care and Health Care, Youth Today (10/1/15)
- Lawmaker Seeks Better Access to Medi-Cal Care for Former Foster Kids, California Healthline (11/10/14)
- Covered California users grateful but keenly aware of shortcomings, Los Angeles Daily News (10/1/2014)
- ACA Extends Coverage for Former Foster Youth, KMPH FOX 26 (9/4/2014)
- How other states are implementing Medicaid changes for former foster youth, NewsOK (8/25/2014)
- No Longer Under the Radar: Programs help ensure former foster youth stay insured, Stockton Record (7/29/14)
- Former Foster Care Youths Struggle To Enroll in Medi-Cal, California Healthline (7/25/2014)
- Critics Say Covered California Ill-Equipped to Help Former Foster Youth, KQED (7/24/2014)
- New Federal Health-Care Rules Allow Foster Youth to Get Coverage Until Age 26, Whittier Daily News (7/5/2014)
- Former Foster Care Youths Get Help Paying For Health Care, NPR- Shots (6/20/14)
- A Medi-Cal mending for ex foster kids, San Diego Union-Tribune (5/25/14)
- Obamacare protege a niños en casas de crianza, La Opinion (5/13/14)
- Affordable Care Act lets foster youths stay on Medi-Cal longer, San Francisco Chronicle (5/12/14)
- ACA Expands Health Coverage to Residents Formerly in Foster Care, CaliforniaHealthline (4/29/14)
- ACA Offers Critical Support for Foster Kids, California Health Report (4/28/14)
- Foster Youth Campaign to Access Obamacare, The Chronicle of Social Change (4/25/14)
- Former foster kids get MediCal help via Obamacare, Orange County Register (3/20/14)
- Obamacare, Fostering Connections Carry Potential to Lower Foster Teen Pregnancies, The Chronicle of Social Change (3/12/14)
- Medi-Cal Covers Foster Youth Till Age 26, But Few Know It, New America Media (2/25/14)
- Not-for-Profit Campaign Aims To Help Youth Aging Out of Foster Care Retain Medi-Cal Coverage, California Healthline (2/21/14)
- Health law to help foster youth to age 26, Vallejo Times-Herald (2/21/14)
- Medi-Cal Outreach Begins For Foster Children, Payers & Providers (2/20/14)
- Former foster children covered under Obamacare, but enrollment workers often unaware, Kaiser Health News (01/31/14)