Key points

• Who it serves: Youth with complex behavioral health and multisystem needs, including those interacting with child protection, juvenile justice, developmental disabilities, education, mental health, and addiction services.
• Cross-system collaboration is foundational: OhioRISE brings together state and local programs and integrates expertise across systems rather than requiring families to navigate each system independently.
• Community-based focus: Services are intended to help children thrive at home, at school, and in their communities, while keeping families together and reducing hospitalization and out-of-state care.
• Care coordination: The program works through 18 regional care management entities (CMEs) in partnership with Aetna Better Health of Ohio. Each participating youth is connected with a care coordinator who helps coordinate individualized behavioral, emotional, and physical health supports.
• Eligibility: A Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment is required to help determine whether a child or youth qualifies for the program.

OhioRISE is a concrete example of structuring cross-system collaboration around the needs of the child and family rather than around individual agencies. Its model combines Medicaid managed care, regional care coordination, and multiple child-serving systems to create a more integrated response for youth whose needs cross traditional agency boundaries.