State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services

Release 26-03 August 12, 2026

View History

11.2 Former Foster Care Youth (FFCY)

Youths who were in certain foster care placements or agreements on their 18th birthday can qualify for BadgerCare Plus as a FFCY. The youth's state residency when they turned 18 years old is not an eligibility factor. 

1. To qualify, the youth must be under age 26 and must have been in one of the following placements or agreements (either IV-E or non-IV-E) on the date that they turned 18 years old:

   • Out-of-home care placement

   • Court-ordered Kinship Care

   • Long-Term Kinship Care

   • Subsidized Guardianship

2. The youth must also meet the following eligibility criteria:

   1. SSN or cooperation - Once the SSN is provided, verification is completed through data exchange processes.

   2. U.S. citizen or national or a qualifying immigrant - Any individual who previously received a Title IV-E Foster Care Medicaid type is exempt from verifying U.S. Citizenship.

   3. Cooperates with child support enforcement agencies in obtaining medical support (if a parent).

   4. Cooperates with third party liability (TPLThird Party Liability. The obligation of a person or organization other than Medicaid or BadgerCare Plus to pay for a person's medical expenses. Examples of TPL include group or private health insurance, auto insurance, worker's compensation, and personal liability insurance.) requirements.

   5. Physically resides in Wisconsin and intends to reside in the state.

   6. Is not already enrolled in another mandatory health care category, such as SSI Medicaid.

There are no financial eligibility criteria for youths while they are eligible as FFCY. They are not required to provide any income information or tax filing information for their BadgerCare Plus eligibility to be determined or redetermined.

Youths may be eligible for BadgerCare Plus as a FFCY until they turn 26 years old.

A 12-month renewal is required to continue eligibility.

Note	If a FFCY is included in another household member's assistance group (AG), their financial information, including tax filing information, may be required to determine eligibility for those other household members.

---

The information concerning the BadgerCare Plus program provided in this handbook release is published in accordance with: Titles XI, XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act; Parts 430 through 481 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations; Chapter 49 of the Wisconsin Statutes; and Chapters HA 3, DHS 2 and 101 through 109 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.

Notice: The content within this manual is the sole responsibility of the State of Wisconsin's Department of Health Services (DHS). This site will link to sites outside of DHS where appropriate. DHS is in no way responsible for the content of sites outside of DHS.

Publication Number: P-10171