State Initiative

Oregon Establishes Incentive Metric for Social and Emotional Health

Jan 25, 2022

A partnership between Children’s Institute, the Oregon Pediatric Improvement Partnership at Oregon Health & Science University, and Oregon Health Authority has culminated in approval of a first-ever incentive metric for social and emotional health for children under five for the state’s 16 Coordinated Care Organizations (CCO).

The new metric will help Oregon’s Medicaid system focus on prevention and increased investment in the state’s youngest children. It will incentivize CCO’s to establish a foundation for social emotional health and school readiness by improving care, making quality care accessible, eliminating health disparities, and curbing the rising costs of health care.

CCO’s are tasked with analyzing current services and working with local providers and early educators to create community-specific action plans by the end of 2022. This will allow them to understand and address gaps in social and emotional health services for young children. Ultimately, the purpose of the work is to “address complex system-level factors that impact the services kids and families receive and how they receive them, and for which there may be payment or policy barriers that need to be addressed.” Read more about how this work was funded and will be accomplished.

Social and emotional health is a core policy priority at ZERO TO THREE. Learn more about what advocates and policymakers can do.

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