Center for Adolescent Health and the Law

Center for Adolescent Health & the Law

promoting the health of adolescents and young adults and their access to comprehensive health care

Highlights and Hazards: What Do the Current Health Care Reform Bills Do for Adolescents & Young Adults (November 2009)

The Center for Adolescent Health & the Law, in collaboration with the National Adolescent Health Information and Innovation Center (NAHIIC) at the University of California, San Francisco, has produced Highlights and Hazards: What Do the Current Health Care Reform Bills Do for Adolescents & Young Adults?

This fact sheet provides an overview of measures in the three health bills that are currently in play in the U.S. Congress that are particularly noteworthy for adolescents and young adults. H.R. 3962, the Senate Finance bill, and the Senate HELP bill are analyzed to identify “highlights” – provisions that would be particularly beneficial for this important and often neglected age group – and “hazards” – provisions that could be harmful to these young people.

Download PDF.

Health Care for Homeless Youth: Policy Options for Improving Access (2008)

The Center for Adolescent Health & the Law, in collaboration with the Public Policy Analysis Center for Middle Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adults Health at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF Policy Center) has produced Health Care for Homeless Youth: Policy Options for Improving Access.

The issue brief describes homeless youth, a small but highly vulnerable population with significant health care needs, and the substantial financial and consent and confidentiality barriers these young people experience when trying to access health care services. It explains how health care access can be improved for this population, by describing how Medicaid and SCHIP currently reach adolescents and young adults, and how these two programs can be expanded to help homeless youth. The brief emphasizes the important opportunity presented by options available to the states, such as the Foster Care Independence Act, HIFA waivers, and Ribicoff youth, and summarizes the policy options that can best improve access to health care for homeless youth. It also discusses state minor consent laws and how they could be used to make health care services more accessible to homeless youth.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Care for Adolescents: Legal Rights and Policy Challenges

Sexual and Reproductive Health Care for Adolescents: Legal Rights and Policy Challenges. English A. Adolescent Medicine: State of the Art Reviews. 2007;18:571-581.

Helping Teens Stay Healthy and Safe: Health Care, Birth Control and Confidential Services (2007)

The Center for Adolescent Health & the Law and Healthy Teen Network have produced a set of resources entitled Helping Teens Stay Healthy and Safe: Health Care, Birth Control and Confidential Services.

The Helping Teens Stay Healthy and Safe series is the result of a year long investigation of how teen access to confidential services is affected when a state’s laws are unclear or not well understood. Offering confidential services is often necessary for teens to access essential preventive care. Even so, not all states explicitly authorize minors to consent for contraceptive services and even in those that do confusion about how and when teens may access confidential services often prevails – among administrators, clinical care providers, clinic support staff, teens, and parents.

This comprehensive series of brochures offers guidance to health care providers, teens, and parents of teens about ways they can deliver, receive, and support adolescents’ access to confidential contraceptive services.

Healthy Teen Network is a national membership network founded on the belief that youth can make responsible decisions about their sexuality and reproductive health when they have complete, accurate and culturally relevant information, skills, resources and support. For more information, visit HealthyTeenNetwork.org.

Download Report PDFs: Intro | Full Report
Download Brochures: Guide for Teens | Guide for Parents | Guide for Providers

Health Insurance for Older Adolescents and Young Adults: Policy Options to Expand Coverage (2006)

The Center for Adolescent Health & the Law has produced Health Insurance for Older Adolescents and Young Adults: Policy Options to Expand Coverage.

The issue brief describes the health status and health care needs of older adolescents and young adults. It reviews the current status of health insurance coverage for this age group and discusses improvements over the past several years resulting from expansions in public programs such as Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The brief outlines a series of policy options for improving health insurance coverage for this age group, provides examples of efforts to implement these options, and explores the potential barriers and obstacles to implementation.

Download PDF.

Health Care for Adolescents and Young Adults Leaving Foster Care: Policy Options for Improving Access (2006)

The Center for Adolescent Health & the Law, in collaboration with the Public Policy Analysis Center for Middle Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adults Health at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF Policy Center) has produced Health Care for Adolescents and Young Adults Leaving Foster Care: Policy Options for Improving Access.

The issue brief describes the young people who are aging out of foster care, their health status, and the barriers to securing health care they face when leaving foster care. It explains how health care access can be improved for this population, by describing how Medicaid and SCHIP currently reach adolescents and young adults, and how these two programs can be used to help former foster youth. The brief emphasizes the important opportunity presented by the Medicaid Expansion Option contained in the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, and summarizes the policy options that can best improve access to health care for former foster youth.

Download PDF.

Children’s Health Under Medicaid – A National Review of Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment: 1999-2003

Children’s Health Under Medicaid – A National Review of Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment: 1999-2003. Perkins J, Stinnett A, Somers S, Olson K. Los Angeles, CA: National Health Law Program, 2005.
(Copies available through the National Health Law Program.)

categories: publications, financial access & health insurance
tags: Medicaid, EPSDT

Adolescent Health Care – Medicaid, Managed Care, and Health Care Reform: Lessons from the 1990s

Adolescent Health Care – Medicaid, Managed Care, and Health Care Reform: Lessons from the 1990s. English A, Perkins J, Teare C. Chapel Hill, NC: Center for Adolescent Health & the Law; Oakland, CA: National Center for Youth Law; and Los Angeles, CA: National Health Law Program, November 2004.

Director’s Blog

Coming soon!

State Minor Consent Laws: A Summary, 3rd Edition

The highly acclaimed 3rd edition of State Minor Consent Laws: A Summary is available!

Click here for more information on this landmark publication.

Resources for the Affordable Care Act

The Center for Adolescent Health & the Law and the National Adolescent and Young Adult Health Information Center (NAHIC) have published a series of issue briefs explaining the implications of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for adolescents and young adults.