January 15, 2026
NEW YORK—(January 15, 2026) Today, a federal court granted final approval of a landmark settlement agreement that will guarantee New York’s Medicaid-eligible children access to timely, intensive mental health services in their own homes and communities.
The ruling is a significant step toward ending a painful ordeal with tragic consequences experienced by families across the state. They have been forced to watch their children’s health deteriorate while they languish in psychiatric hospitals or other institutions for extended periods of time, while they wait for services that are at best sporadic.
The lawsuit was filed in 2022 on behalf of Medicaid-eligible children with mental health conditions, asserting that New York administers an inadequate, inaccessible, and fragmented mental health system in violation of federal law. The case was brought by Children’s Rights, the National Health Law Program, Disability Rights New York, and Proskauer Rose LLP.
The approved agreement lays out a comprehensive, multi-year plan that requires New York to develop and execute on a set of key services statewide, including intensive care coordination, intensive in-home behavioral health services, and mobile crisis services.
“We look forward to working in close collaboration with state officials to improve and strengthen the delivery of timely mental and behavioral health services for children, establish quality management and accountability systems, and ensure the children of New York get the care they deserve at home with their families and in their own communities,” said Daniele Gerard, lead counsel at Children’s Rights.
Child mental health has been a priority for Children’s Rights since its inception. Our legal cases are leading to improvements in access to trauma-informed care and community-based mental health services for children, and effective oversight in administering potentially dangerous psychotropic drugs to children in foster systems. Recent advocacy initiatives include urging lawmakers to reexamine laws and policies that cause trauma to children and families, and support adequate, sustained government funding for mental and behavioral health care services.