WAG 06-28-01
Individuals are eligible to receive Medicaid coverage through the Former Foster Care program if the criteria below are met.
Applicants must:
- have received Medicaid under foster care until they aged out (exited) at age 18 or older, either from Illinois or another state. Please see specific criteria below.
- Illinois Former Foster Care: Generally, individuals who aged out of Illinois foster care will first receive continuous eligibility until their 19th birthday, at which point they would be eligible for the Former Foster Care program through the age 25.
Out of State Former Foster Care: Individuals who aged out of foster care outside of Illinois may apply from age 18 through their 25th year. Individuals must have turned 18 on or after 01/01/2023.
- be between age 18 and 25. Applicants are eligible through their 25th year.
- be an Illinois resident PM 03-02-00.
- have a Social Security Number (SSN) or proof of application for an SSN PM 03-11-00.
- meet U.S. citizenship or immigration requirements in PM 03-01-00.
Reminder: If the applicant aged out of foster care outside of Illinois AND turned 18 before 01/01/2023, they are not eligible to receive Medicaid through the Former Foster Care program in Illinois but may still be considered for other medical programs.
NOTE: The Former Foster Care program has no income limits and resources (assets) are not considered.
Although individuals may be eligible under Family Health Plans or AABD, if eligible enroll the individual in Former Foster Care Program to ensure they do not lose eligibility prior to age 26 due to increased income.
Individuals who received assistance through the following DCFS Programs are not eligible for Former Foster Care but may qualify for ACA Adult or other medical benefits:
- KinGap (subsidized guardianship);
- Adoption Assistance;
- Child of 'Youth in Care' (formerly known as Child of Ward)
- Youth released from a corrections facility to a foster care setting but are still in Department of Corrections custody.
A noncitizen child who received foster care as a legal permanent resident in the U.S. less than 5 years or as a lawfully present as described in PM 03-01-01-j, will not qualify for Former Foster Care or other medical assistance as an adult unless immigration requirements described in PM 03-01-02 are met.
Generally, youth who exit Illinois foster care at age 18 will receive up to 12 months of continuous eligibility beginning with the month they exit foster care until their 19th birthday. For more information on continuous eligibility, see PM 18-05-01.
Renewal Requirements
A redetermination of eligibility is required once every 12 months for individuals enrolled in Former Foster Care. Individuals in Former Foster Care will likely qualify for the auto-redetermination process described in PM 19-02-04. When an individual reaches age 26, eligibility should be reviewed for other programs such as ACA Adult, FamilyCare, Moms & Babies or AABD before closing the Former Foster Care case. IES will review eligibility for other programs as part of the normal cascade.
