NEW YORK — A federal court has granted final approval of a class action settlement in C.K. v. McDonald, requiring New York State to reform how it delivers Medicaid-funded mental and behavioral health services to children and youth.
The lawsuit challenged New York’s failure to ensure timely access to intensive home and community-based mental health services required under federal law. As a result, many children were unnecessarily hospitalized or institutionalized, separated from their families and communities, and denied care that could have supported their well-being at home.
The court-approved settlement requires New York to implement statewide reforms, including intensive care coordination, expanded in-home behavioral health services, and strengthened mobile crisis services. The agreement also mandates improvements to provider capacity, data transparency, and accountability, with independent monitoring and ongoing court oversight to ensure compliance.
“Our health care system must work for all children, especially those with mental and behavioral health needs,” said Kim Lewis, Managing Director of California Advocacy at the National Health Law Program. “Decades of evidence show that intensive home and community-based mental health services lead to better outcomes for children and families. This settlement, now enforceable by the court, is a critical step toward making sure children get the care they need, when and where they need it.”
The National Health Law Program, alongside Disability Rights New York, Children’s Rights, and Proskauer Rose LLP, will continue working to support implementation and accountability so that children and families across New York receive the care they are entitled to.
Kim Lewis recently authored an article for the Center for Children & Families at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy examining how new state settlements requiring intensive home and community-based services will benefit children and youth with significant behavioral health needs.
