Care4Kids Program
Care4Kids helps children and teens in foster care find the health services they need, when they need them.
The program creates a “medical home” team for these children. This means they get a treatment plan specific to their health care needs. This includes trauma-related care. With a care plan in place, children may have:
- Better physical and mental health.
- Greater resiliency.
- Increased supports while in the foster care system.
A medical home is a concept, not a place. Each child has a team that works together to meet their needs. These are often medical needs. Needs also include community-based supports and services. The medical home helps bring team members, the child, and the child’s family together. It helps to assure the best possible outcomes.
Essential children's resources
Wisconsin Wayfinder supports families of children with delays, disabilities, special health care needs, and mental health conditions. Children’s resource guides are helpers who assist families, caregivers, professionals, and organizations in finding a wide array of supports and services available through the Children’s Resource Network.
The Care4Kids Program serves about 3,000 children. That is about half of the children in foster care in Wisconsin.
Our program goals
- Total health services—The Care4Kids Program helps children get the care they need. That includes physical, behavioral, and oral health care.
- Timely access—The Care4Kids Program helps children get care when they need it. Each child has an initial health screening. This happens within two business days of the child entering out-of-home care. A full health check is done within 30 days of joining the program. This helps inform the course of care for medical, behavioral, mental health, and oral health needs, to help ensure timely access. Children also have regular well-child checkups.
- High quality, flexible care—The Care4Kids Program coordinates care so it will be effective and efficient. Our providers use trauma-informed and evidence-informed practices.
- Transitional planning and cross-system coordination—Children in out-of-home care get transitional planning and follow-up services. These services make sure health care continues once a child finds a permanent home or ages out of foster care. The Care4Kids Program works with other systems like:
- The local school system.
- The county Birth to 3 program.
- Children’s Long-Term Support services.
- County-funded mental health services.
- Well-being outcomes—The Care4Kids Program supports children so they can have:
- Better health.
- Improved behavior and mental health.
- More positive permanency outcomes.
- Greater resiliency.
Who can enroll
The Care4Kids initiative is for children who are placed in out-of-home care in these counties:
- Kenosha
- Ozaukee
- Milwaukee
- Racine
- Washington
- Waukesha
An enrollment specialist can help parents and caregivers learn:
- How the program works.
- The benefits offered through the program.
- Their rights, including their right to disenroll at any time.
Ready to enroll a child? Find more information from Chorus Community Health Plans.
Who to contact for help
Questions about the program? Call 855-371-8104. Care4Kids staff are available 8 a.m.–6:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m.–4 p.m. on Friday.
Questions about services or disputes?
- Mail:
Department of Health Services
Division of Medicaid Services, Bureau of Children's Services
Attn: Mary Schmierer
1 W. Wilson St., Room 418
PO Box 7851 Madison, WI 53707-7851 - Email maryjean.schmierer@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Related topics
- Health Care and Coverage
- Children’s Hospital of WI
- Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board
- Wisconsin Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health (IDD-MH) System Improvement
- Children’s specialty managed care plan Care4KidsManaged Care Program Annual Report (MCPAR) (PDF)
- Under Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulation 42 CFR § 438.66(e), states must complete one MCPAR for each managed care program in the state.