OhioRISE: All You Need to Know About Funding for Students

In Ohio, families navigating behavioral health challenges often look for programs that provide the right support for their students.

Ohio Resilience through Integrated Systems and Excellence, known as OhioRISE, is a specialized managed care program designed to help.

This guide will walk you through what OhioRISE is, who qualifies, how to apply, and how Mathnasium, a proud partner, can support your child’s educational journey using available funding.

What Is OhioRISE?

OhioRISE is a specialized Medicaid managed care program in Ohio for children and youth up to age 20 with complex behavioral health needs.

The program brings together multiple systems, including health, behavioral health, education, juvenile justice, and child welfare, to offer coordinated, thoughtful support tailored to each child’s unique strengths and challenges.

What Services Does OhioRISE Offer?

OhioRISE provides behavioral health services that are coordinated across systems and designed to meet the specific needs of eligible children and youth. 

This support extends beyond what standard Medicaid plans typically offer and focus on addressing complex behavioral health challenges.

Services may include:

• Care Coordination: Each family is matched with a dedicated care coordinator who helps build a personalized care plan. Coordinators work closely with providers, schools, and other systems to ensure everyone is aligned. Care is offered at three levels, based on the child’s needs.

• Intensive Home-Based Treatment (IHBT): Structured behavioral health services delivered in the home or other familiar settings. IHBT supports youth who need consistent, focused care while remaining in their community.

• Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS): In times of crisis, trained professionals respond quickly, often going directly to the youth’s location. This service is available to both OhioRISE members and non-members and helps prevent escalation.

• Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTF): When intensive care is needed, OhioRISE may cover residential treatment in youth-focused facilities. The goal is to keep children connected to home, school, and family supports whenever possible.

• Behavioral Health Respite: Short-term relief care gives caregivers time to rest or manage other responsibilities while ensuring their child is safely supported during that time.

• Primary Flex Funds: Up to $1,500 per year may be available to cover needs not typically paid for by Medicaid. This includes services like tutoring, supplies, or supports that align with the child’s care plan.

• Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment: OhioRISE includes all Medicaid-covered behavioral health services, ensuring families have access to consistent care for mental health and substance use needs.

Each service is designed to work in coordination with others, creating a responsive care structure that helps families address challenges and support progress over time.

Who Qualifies for OhioRISE?

To qualify for OhioRISE, a child or youth must meet specific criteria tied to their age, Medicaid status, and behavioral health needs.

Eligibility includes:

• Being between the ages of 0 and 20

• Being enrolled in Ohio Medicaid

• Meeting behavioral health criteria through a CANS assessment (Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths)

While not required, factors like recent behavioral health hospitalizations or involvement with systems such as child welfare, juvenile justice, or developmental disabilities may increase the likelihood of qualifying.

OhioRISE offers coordinated services like in-home support, care planning, and educational resources to help children thrive across settings. 

How to Apply for OhioRISE

Getting started with OhioRISE begins with a behavioral health assessment called the CANS (Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths). This process helps determine whether your child qualifies and what level of support they may need.

Let’s look at how the application process works:

1. Request a CANS Assessment: A referral can come from your child’s Medicaid Managed Care Organization (MCO), a provider, a school, a care coordinator, or even a crisis service. Families can also directly ask for a CANS assessment through their care team.

2. Schedule the Assessment: Once the referral is made, the assessment is typically scheduled within a few days. The goal is to begin the process quickly, especially when support is urgently needed.

3. Complete the Assessment: A certified assessor will meet with you and your child to complete the CANS. This evaluation looks at strengths, challenges, and the level of behavioral health support needed.

4. Receive an Eligibility Decision: After the assessment is submitted, the state reviews the results and determines eligibility. In most cases, families are notified within a few business days.

5. Enrollment and Care Coordination: If your child qualifies, enrollment in OhioRISE begins from the date the assessment was submitted. A care coordinator will contact your family shortly after to begin building a personalized care plan.

Parents can begin the OhioRISE application by requesting a CANS assessment and working with their care team to explore next steps. 

Can OhioRISE Be Used for Educational Support?

Educational support can be part of an OhioRISE care plan when a child’s academic challenges are linked to behavioral health needs. This might include issues like school avoidance, anxiety related to learning, difficulty with focus or executive function, or academic setbacks caused by emotional or developmental struggles.

In these cases, support for education may be recommended, not as a standalone service, but as a piece of a broader, integrated care plan that addresses the child’s overall well-being.

For educational services to be included, they must:

• Be connected to a documented behavioral health need

• Align with the goals in the child’s CANS assessment and care plan

• Be recommended by the care team as a way to support progress and stability

Once approved, educational support may take different forms depending on what each child needs most. This might include:

• Assistance with school transitions or re-entry planning

• Executive functioning or study skills coaching

• Educational advocacy or IEP consultation

• Access to technology or learning materials

• Targeted academic support, such as subject-specific tutoring, including math support from programs like Mathnasium

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How Mathnasium Supports OhioRISE Families

For families enrolled in OhioRISE, academic challenges often go hand-in-hand with behavioral or emotional health concerns. 

Struggles in subjects like math can lead to frustration, school avoidance, or low self-esteem, factors that can reinforce a child’s overall difficulty coping in daily life. In these situations, educational support isn’t just about grades; it becomes part of the broader care strategy.

That’s where a program like Mathnasium can make a meaningful difference.

Mathnasium is a math-only learning center that provides personalized, face-to-face instruction in an engaging and supportive environment.

Our work is built around the Mathnasium Method™, a proven teaching approach that builds number sense, logical reasoning, and step-by-step math mastery. Each student begins their Mathnasium journey with a diagnostic assessment, which helps us develop a personalized learning plan that puts the child on the best path to math mastery. 

Sessions are paced to match the student’s readiness and designed to make math feel more manageable and less overwhelming.

This approach aligns with many of the goals often found in OhioRISE care plans, including:

• Reducing school-related anxiety

• Improving focus and persistence

• Supporting executive function and problem-solving

• Creating consistent, confidence-building routines

Tutors at Mathnasium are trained not only in math instruction but also in how to support students who may be anxious, discouraged, or emotionally withdrawn. The result is a steady, encouraging experience that helps students feel safe, supported, and more capable over time.

For families in the West Chester area, Mathnasium of West Chester is a proud local partner in serving students participating in the OhioRISE program. When math-related challenges are included in a child’s care plan, tutoring at Mathnasium of West Chester may be an eligible service. In some cases, this support can be funded through Primary Flex Funds, with coordination through the child’s care team.

Families interested in exploring this option should speak with their care coordinator. Our team is also available to collaborate with providers and supply documentation or progress updates as needed. 

To learn more or take the first step, contact Mathnasium of West Chester to schedule a free diagnostic assessment.

📅 Schedule a Free Diagnostic Assessment at Mathnasium of West Chester

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