State Variation in Out-of-Home Medicaid Mental Health Services for Children and Youth: An Examination of Residential Treatment and Inpatient Hospital Services

This research investigated state variation in the use of out-of-home mental health services among children and youth enrolled in Medicaid during 2003. Medicaid claims from three states were used to describe the demographic and diagnostic characteristics of children and youth under age 22 who received mental health services in general hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, psychiatric residential treatment facilities, and other residential treatment settings and to examine their lengths of stay, repeat stays, and expenditures. Depending on the state, 6–13% of children and youth with a mental health diagnosis received out-of-home services during the year; 37–58% of these children and youth had more than one out-of-home stay. Out-of-home mental health services accounted for 21–75% of Medicaid mental health expenditures for children and youth, depending on the state. States varied considerably in lengths of stay and per beneficiary expenditures for out-of-home care. Although some similarities in out-of-home care were found across states, substantial state variation in out-of-home care warrants further research in the context of state service systems and Medicaid policies.