print this pageCalifornia Children Services (CCS)
The goal of CCS is to locate California children who may need specialized medical care and encourage families with children with physical disabilities to obtain necessary medical services to maximize their children's potential.
Who is Eligible for CCS?
If a low income family has a child with a CCS medically eligible condition, CCS may authorize financial assistance for any necessary medical care. CCS arranges and pays for diagnostic evaluations, if required, without regard to the family's income and resources. If the parent(s) are legal California resident(s) and the child is under 21 years of age, they should contact their county health department to apply for CCS.
CCS coordinates and monitors medical services for Medi-Cal children with CCS-eligible conditions in order to assure they are provided with the highest quality of care available.
A child is eligible for CCS when:
- he/she has a CCS medically eligible condition.
- the parents reside in a county in California.
- the family's California Tax Form for the previous tax year reports an adjusted gross
income (AGI) of $40,000 or less; or, an income over $40,000 AGI when the estimated cost of
out-of-pocket expenditures for medical care for the child exceeds 20 percent of the AGI.
Families with incomes exceeding 200 percent of the federal income guidelines are charged an annual enrollment fee based on a sliding fee schedule of family size and gross annual income. An annual assessment fee of $20 is also charged for families with incomes exceeding 100 percent of the federal income guidelines.
- Children who have health insurance coverage through California's Healthy Families may be eligible for CCS coverage for care related to a CCS medically eligible condition
How to Apply for CCS
The local county CCS office should be contacted as soon as possible to refer a potentially eligible child because CCS does not pay for services prior to the date a child is referred. Anyone can refer a child to CCS: family members, physicians, hospitals, or anyone aware of a child with a serious medical condition.
What Specific Services Does CCS Authorize for Payment?
- Diagnostic Evaluations for children with suspected eligible conditions.
- Treatment Services for eligible conditions, including: physician services, hospital and surgical care, medical nutrition therapy, physical and occupational therapy, laboratory tests, X-rays, appliances, equipment, and other medically necessary services.
- Medical Case Management including referral to specialists and treatment centers;
authorization of medically necessary services; and follow-up with public
health and school nurses, social workers, and other agencies. Case management
is:
- getting the child to appropriate specialists and special centers,
- authorizing services as needed,
- intervening when care requested is inappropriate or provided by providers not meeting CCS quality standards, and
- involving families in the management of their child's care.
- Medical Therapy Program services are delivered by local CCS programs to children with cerebral palsy and other neuromuscular conditions. CCS physical therapy and occupational therapy staff provide medically prescribed therapy services in medical therapy units at school sites. Medical Therapy Conferences, staffed by physician, therapy staff, and other professionals provide team evaluations and care coordination for children and their families to assure the provision of necessary services and equipment for rehabilitative needs.
What Conditions are Covered?
The CCS program covers almost all serious medical conditions of a physical nature which can be cured, improved, or stabilized. Eligible conditions include birth defects (such as congenital heart disease); chronic illnesses (such as cystic fibrosis); malignancies; and certain serious injuries and physical disabilities.
Contacting CCS
Every county has a CCS office. The office can be reached by calling the local county health department telephone number.
State CCS telephone numbers are:
General Office: (916) 654-0499
TDD/Relay: (916) 654-0476
Sacramento Regional Office: (916) 653-8050
Northern California Regional Office: (415) 904-9699
Southern California Regional Office: (213) 897-3574
This information is from the California Department of Health Services