BHRS in a Wraparound Cup ®

Nathan's Voice is a terrific resource and I'm thankful that Lorrie has given me an opportunity to distribute information about The greatest treatment funding secret ever concealed: The Medicaid EPSDT mandate. It has existed throughout the United States and its Territories since 1989 and funds the delivery of “medically necessary” Behavioral Health Rehabilitation Services (BHRS) in homes and schools that is “sufficient in amount, duration and scope to reasonably achieve the purpose for which it is furnished, whether or not the treatment is part of any state plan.” In 36 states a child with a disability under the age of 21 can be enrolled in Medicaid regardless of family income, and can access treatment funding through the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) mandate. The Network for Behavior Change, a private psychology group practice I created, started providing BHRS to children about 20 years ago. To support the work of the Network psychologists, I created a nonprofit foundation to recruit, train, deploy and monitor the unlicensed staff working under their supervision called The Institute for Behavior Change.

By contracting with enrolled Medicaid providers like The Network for Behavior Change that scrupulously adhere to the Ethical Principles of Psychologists as well as all Medicaid requirements, parents can confidently advocate for their children in schools to get the Free, Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) they deserve. Our staff work with the child in the school, at home and in the community providing therapeutic behavioral interventions 20, 30 or more hours every week. If you live in the Southeastern region of Pennsylvania 
(Chester, Delaware, Montgomery or Philadelphia counties), the referral process for parents is very simple: visit www.ibc-pa.org and download our referral form, fill it out and fax or mail it back and we'll take it from there.

I created the community-based mental health treatment model for children called BHRS in a Wraparound Cup® in 1981 and learned through independent researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Villanova University and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia that it is an extremely effective, efficient means of delivering mental health treatment and behavioral support services to children. It is a “force multiplier” strategy because it increases the effectiveness of a single licensed psychologist by a factor of 30, so it is ideally suited to meeting the needs of children with behavioral challenges in urban, suburban and rural communities throughout America. This model is fully compliant with all Medicaid EPSDT statutes and is compatible with all state Medicaid plans, so programs delivering BHRS in a Wraparound Cup® can be implemented in homes, schools and communities throughout the America, funded by the Medicaid EPSDT mandate at little or no cost to parents. In fact, the model I created utilizes professional mental health treatment 
resources most efficiently and can work anywhere in the world.

Parents, advocates and mental health practitioners can visit www.TreatmentPlansThatWorked.com where they can obtain more than 500 real-world BHRS treatment plans that were actually successful, with the data that documents it. They can use these plans as a foundation for evaluating client needs, knowing that Medicaid funding for comparable treatment plans has been granted in Pennsylvania for more than 20 years. Behavioral treatment plans that incorporate all of the BHRS in a Wraparound Cup® standards can be funded under the Medicaid EPSDT mandate as a Civil Right for children with mental illnesses and behavioral challenges who are enrolled in Medicaid in any state; Pennsylvania set the example for this in 1992 but state governments do their best to hide EPSDT funds from everyone -- except schools. Schools take a lot of Medicaid money. 

I provide case management services throughout the world via www.OurCaseManager.pro and have testified in US Federal courts several times as an expert witness regarding psychological testing and treatment, Medicaid, EPSDT funding, Special Education and Behavioral Health Rehabilitation Services.

Steve Kossor
Founder and Executive Director, The Institute for Behavior Change