Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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West Virginia program

Extra help for children with special health needs (CSHCN)

West Virginia’s CSHCN program offers specialized care and care coordination for eligible children under 21.

What it is

West Virginia’s CSHCN program offers specialized care and care coordination for eligible children under 21.

A care coordinator can help connect the different parts of your child’s care. CSHCN reviews its own eligibility rules. A cancer diagnosis by itself does not establish which services the program will fund.

Eligibility rules
  • Your child must be under 21.
  • CSHCN checks its own medical and financial criteria. Your social worker can ask the program at 304-558-5388 or 1-800-642-9704 to confirm its current income limit, your child’s diagnosis and the services available.
What you get
  • A care coordinator and specialized medical care when your child qualifies.
  • A transport reimbursement route for program clients.
What the help includes
  • The program works with specialized clinics across the state. Its own assessment decides which services fit your child.
  • Before relying on CSHCN to pay a bill, your social worker can ask for the approved services, any family charge, and how CSHCN coordinates with your private insurance or Medicaid. A referral does not establish free care or replace another plan’s required approval.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the hospital, your doctor or a Department of Human Services office for a CSHCN referral.
  2. Ask the program which services it could cover for your child and what the family would pay.

Children with Special Health Care Needs Program: 304-558-5388 or 1-800-642-9704 in West Virginia · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • The Office of Maternal, Child and Family Health reviews the referral. A hospital or health professional can start it.
Good to know

For a child with a Medicaid health plan, CSHCN does not bypass the plan’s network or required approvals.

Other details
  • A Medicaid plan must approve services within its rules, and its network must be used.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could this program add useful help to our child’s care, and what costs or limits would come with it? If a referral is worthwhile, could you help us find out what it would cover?”

Why I’m asking: I want to know whether a care coordinator and additional support would ease the work around treatment.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Say yes to the referral and ask the programme what it can pay for in your case.

Your social worker

A hospital, any health professional or a DoHS office can begin the referral.

The care team

The referral usually comes from the hospital, so ask at clinic.

Who decides
The Office of Maternal, Child and Family Health.
Ask your social worker
“Can you refer us to the Children with Special Health Care Needs Program, and can you ask them what they cover for a child in treatment?”

How to apply

First step: Ask the oncology social worker to refer you, or call 304-558-5388.

  1. Ask the oncology social worker to refer your child today.
  2. Ask the programme directly what its income limits are and whether leukaemia is on its list.
  3. If your child is in a Medicaid plan, ask which services the plan has to approve first.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask the hospital, your doctor or a DoHS office to make the referral.

What to gather

  • Your child's diagnosis and treatment plan
  • Household income, for when they ask

How long: Not published. Ask when you are referred.

What a yes looks like

A named care coordinator and a written list of what the programme covers for your child.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask which test was not met, income or diagnosis, and what the figure was.

Watch out

  • The income limits and the diagnosis list are not published; ask rather than assume.
  • If your child is in a Medicaid plan, the plan's network has to be used and unapproved services cannot be billed.

Dates that change this

2026-09-11: The programme does not publish a diagnosis list, a 2026 income schedule or any cost sharing. One phone call tells you more than the page does.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Specialised care and care coordination for a child under 21, with statewide direct-care providers, and a transport route for the programme's clients.

Covers: Care coordination · Specialised medical care through statewide direct-care providers · Transport reimbursement described for the programme's clients alongside Medicaid's

What it costs the family: Unknown: no cost-sharing schedule is published.

The eligibility facts, as published

Age
under 21
Income
unknown: no 2026 income table was located
Diagnosis
unknown: no list naming leukaemia or cancer was located
Managed care
services not approved by a Medicaid managed-care plan cannot be billed, and the plan's network has to be used

Decisions this site cannot make: Financial and medical eligibility decided by the programme

Expect friction on: No published diagnosis list, income limits or cost sharing · A child in a Medicaid managed-care plan has to use that plan's network

The trap: The programme does not publish whether leukaemia is on its list or what its income limits are. Do not assume a yes or a no; ask.

Where I read this

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