HealthCare Access Maryland’s MATCH (Making All The Children Healthy) program was launched in 2008 as a small nurse-based program to provide health care coordination to children in the Baltimore City foster care system. The MATCH program provides coordination of medical assistance (MA) benefits and health care coordination for every child connected with the Baltimore City Department of Social Services (BCDSS) foster care system. Our committed team of registered nurses, licensed social workers, and healthcare professionals coordinate medical exams, dental exams, and behavioral health exams for children in foster care, in addition to enrolling children in the Maryland medical assistance insurance program (MA), case-managing children who experience complex behavioral and physical health needs, supporting health needs of pregnant and/or parenting youth, and assisting young people in assuming responsibility of managing their own health care when transitioning from foster care into independent, adult lives. HCAM’s MATCH program provides case management to approximately 1650 children in Baltimore City Foster Care each year.
Fourteen years later, HCAM is proud to have grown the MATCH program team to address the unique health needs of children in Baltimore’s foster care system. Today, our MATCH team consists of Registered Nurses, licensed Social Workers, Care Coordinators, Medicaid Specialists, Administrative Support, Comprehensive Health Assessors, and most recently welcomed a Reproductive Health Nurse and two Reunification Liaisons.
Kim Floyd, Director of the MATCH program, shares “I am so fortunate to be a part of this unique program and this phenomenal team of professionals who are committed to ensuring that the health needs of our most fragile children and youth in Baltimore City are being met.”
The MATCH program’s newest positions, Reproductive Health Nurse and Reunification Liaison, are crucial roles to the program’s goal of ensuring that children, ages 0-21, receive the physical and behavioral health care they need.
The role of the Reproductive Health Nurse is to function as a resource for all youth of childbearing age (male, female and non-binary). The Reproductive Health Nurse provides education and support to pregnant teens, identifies youth at risk for pregnancy related complications and parenting difficulties, and ensures the health care needs of youth in foster care who are pregnant and/or parenting are being met in a timely manner.
The role of the Reunification Liaison is to assist children and youth who are leaving foster care to be reunited with family or connect with adoptive families. The Reunification Liaison ensures that all medical and behavioral health plans are relayed to the family, while also providing resources and education to caregivers and children to maintain wellness after exiting care. During Fiscal Year ‘22, the MATCH program served 183 children in the reunification process.
“Providing the services we do through the MATCH program is extremely rewarding. We provide a voice to a community that is silenced and forgotten, making sure they are heard and seen. We ensure the children within foster care have a platform, so they can have a rightful passage to equitable and accessible health care, and that’s the rewarding piece that MATCH provides.”
– Alexa M. and Miranda M., MATCH Reunification Liaisons
The MATCH program looks forward to continuing to serve the children in the foster care system of Baltimore City by ensuring they receive the physical and behavioral health care they need.
Interested in joining our team and making a difference in the lives of children in foster care? We’re currently seeking a Reproductive Health Nurse. View the job description and learn how to apply here: Reproductive Health Nurse (paycomonline.net).
