In August of 2000, Section 15 of Kendra’s Law authorized grants to counties to provide medications and related services to treat people with mental illness who have been released from inpatient psychiatric hospitals, local jails and state prisons.

This benefit provides coverage during the period of a Medicaid assistance eligibility determination. The program has been locally implemented through the Department of Community Mental Health as the Medication Grant Program (MGP),

Who is eligible? 
In order to be eligible for the MGP a person must:

  • be identified as having a serious mental illness
  • be scheduled for release from the county jail, state prison or discharged from a psychiatric hospital
  • be of a high-risk or high-need nature
  • be a Westchester County resident
  • appear to be eligible for Medicaid
  • be at least 18 years of age

How does the enrollment/disenrollment process work?
As deputized workers, the Medication Grant Manager (MGM) and the Transition Manager will assist those individuals in the Westchester County jail system in completing a Medicaid application packet. The discharge planners and deputized workers in state prisons as well as psychiatric hospitals will be responsible for assisting those patients in completing the appropriate Medicaid forms.

DCMH will enroll eligible individuals into the medication grant program and a benefits card will be issued. The individual will be provided a list of all of the approved classes of medications and participating pharmacies. The benefits card provides the individual with the ability to have prescriptions filled at any of the approved pharmacies.

How and when does disenrollment occur?
Once the individual has been granted permanent Medicaid benefits, they will be disenrolled from the Medication Grant Program. If an applicant is not eligible for Medicaid, DCMH will assist the person in obtaining needed medications and services through other programs.

Is there a cost to the individual?
No. The program is funded through the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) and operated by the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH in cooperation with the local Department of Social Services.

For more information, contact us.