Enhanced Care Management (ECM) is a Medi-Cal managed care plan (MCP) benefit available in all California counties to support comprehensive care management for MCP members with complex needs.
Because children and youth with complex needs are often already served by one or more case managers or other service providers within a fragmented delivery system, ECM offers coordination between systems.
Children and Youth Populations of Focus eligible for this benefit include:
- Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness
- Children and Youth at Risk for Avoidable Hospital or Emergency Department (ED) Utilization
- Children and Youth With Serious Mental Health and/or Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Needs
- Children and Youth Enrolled in California Children’s Services (CCS) or CCS Whole Child Model (WCM) With Additional Needs Beyond the CCS Condition
- Children and Youth Involved in Child Welfare
Additional information on ECM can be found on the DHCS website.:
In addition, ECM Lead Care Managers are strongly encouraged to screen ECM members for needs for Community Supports services provided by MCPs as cost-effective alternatives to traditional medical services or settings and refer to those Community Supports when eligible and available. Children and youth may benefit from many of the Community Supports services, including asthma remediation, housing navigation, medical respite, and sobering centers.
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