Policy Priorities
Address Basic Needs and Safety Issues to Strengthen and Support Families
All children, youth, and families should have access to, minimally, sufficient income to afford safe and affordable housing, food, healthcare, education, and/or appropriate income and work supports. Poverty among children and families in Rhode Island is among the highest in the nation and wages, tax benefits, and other remedies are critical at both the state and federal levels. The Coalition’s goal is to strengthen families and ensure child safety, which includes attention to basic needs and supports to families where they live. The safety and well-being of children are core to the mission of the Coalition, and therefore current crises such as gun violence, escalating opioid abuse, and the needs of undocumented children are examples of additional issues impacting the children and families in our state.
Ensure a Comprehensive, Equitable and Accessible System of Care for Children and Their Families
A full range of social and health services is critical to ensuring that RI children and families thrive.
Focus on Children’s Behavioral Health System of Care and Leadership: Children and youth in need of behavioral health services face a fragmented and inadequate system. One of the costliest outcomes of the status quo is that children remain too long or become stuck in inpatient care or out-of-state placement. A comprehensive and effective response will require:
Coordinated leadership and planning including nonprofit community-based providers;
Continuation of telehealth which has increased access and participation by children, youth, and family members;
Consistent coverage across insurers and strengthen state oversight of Medicaid and commercial insurers; and
Program enhancements including intensive and extended community- and home-based treatment options, and a statewide mobile crisis response system to respond to emergencies and mitigate hospitalization.
Ensure the Viability of the Public-Private Human Services and Healthcare System through Comprehensive Rate Setting with State Agencies and for Public and Commercial Insurers
Strong state agencies in tandem with community-based social and health service provider organizations are critical to a responsive system. Community providers based in local communities respond nimbly to changing needs and most effectively coordinate with families, schools, healthcare, etc. To fulfill their missions, private agencies rely on a combination of private philanthropy, government contracts, insurance reimbursement. Contract rates and insurance payments don’t meet costs, diminishing both program viability and quality. State agency rate-setting methodologies are law in many states and should be implemented in Rhode Island. Equally, the state needs to address insurance reimbursement rates for both its Medicaid and commercial insurers to achieve parity and consistency in addressing health and behavioral health needs. Budget constraints and years of funding cuts or flat rates have brought the sector to the fiscal brink even while state agencies take on service delivery, creating competition with the sector and moving services away from the community.
Covid-19 Financial Relief From Stimulus Funds
Community-based non-profit organizations serving children, youth, and families are small and mid-size businesses that extend the work of government and augment their services with private resources. RICCF has advocated since the earliest days of
the pandemic for financial relief for organizations who have continued to serve vulnerable children, youth, and families in person and through telehealth, yet sufficient investments to ensure their financial viability have not been made. RICCF seeks
a funding remedy -proposals including a flexible pool of 25M dollars have been made- so that organizations serving the state through direct contracts or insurance billing may invest in the workforce, replace lost revenue, and mitigate increased expenses.
