Medi-Cal Services for Child Welfare Webinar Series

January 16, 2026

Access webinar materials: webinar recording; webinar presentation (PDF); Memoranda of Understanding Between Medi-Cal Managed-Care Plans and Third-Party Entities (on DHCS website); Managed Care Boilerplate Contract (on DHCS website); All Plan Letter 23-029 (on DHCS website); All Plan Letter 24-013 (on DHCS website); County Child Welfare Points of Contact (on CDSS website); Medi-Cal and Child Welfare (on CDSS website).

For additional questions on the webinar content, please send an email to [email protected].

This webinar highlights the importance and benefits of executing a child-welfare memorandum of understanding (MOU) within managed-care plans (MCP) to strengthen care coordination for children, youth and families involved in child welfare. Participants will also gain insight into the essential roles and responsibilities of the MCP child-welfare liaison and how this position bridges systems to promote collaboration and improve outcomes.

In this webinar, we will:

• Explore the roles and responsibilities of the child-welfare liaison and how this position links MCPs and child-welfare agencies to support care coordination
• Discover the vision, goals and value of the MCP child-welfare liaison and the child-welfare MOU in enhancing cross-system collaboration
• Identify strategies to encourage child-welfare agencies to execute MOUs with MCPs
• Share best practices for MOU negotiation and partnership between MCPs and child-welfare agencies
• Review success stories and lessons learned from counties that have executed MOUs or engaged with MCP child-welfare liaisons

Presenters

Love Melnichuk has over 10 years of combined experience in social services and health-care management. She began her public-service career as a county Medi-Cal eligibility worker before being promoted to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) social worker. After seven years in county service, she transitioned to the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), serving as a contract manager. Melnichuk currently is a Kaiser Permanente memorandum of understanding contract manager overseeing child welfare and MOUs. She holds a master’s degree in health-care administration. 

Olatokunbo “Ola” Ajibola-Stott has over a decade of experience advancing child and family well-being. Her experience includes working in residential treatment for youth, co-developing a regional crisis program in Virginia for individuals with developmental and mental-health needs, and leading quality and program operations for a Native Hawaiian health system. Currently with Kaiser Permanente, Ajibola-Stott elevates equity-centered solutions that remove barriers and strengthen systems for vulnerable populations. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Education and a Master of Arts in Health Administration and Education. 

Emely Arienza has over 20 years of leadership in hospital systems and managed care organizations. Arienza currently serves as the MOU Consultant V at Kaiser Permanente, where she coordinates all bespoke memoranda of understanding (MOU) for Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Solano counties. As MOU Coordinator and the designated MCP Liaison, she serves as the primary point of contact for Kaiser Permanente and county partners, leading implementation and operationalization efforts as subject matter generalist. Arienza holds a master’s degree in health care administration and has held key roles at UCSF, Dignity Health, Pomona Valley Hospital, Anthem and Centene. 

Vernell Shaw III is senior director and Northern California Medi-Cal regional lead at Health Net. He has more than 20 years of combined experience in behavioral health, child welfare and Medi-Cal managed-care services across California. Shaw has a proven record of fostering impactful collaborations that improve community well-being. He completed graduate studies at Fordham University. 

Kimberly Swift is a Health Program Specialist II with the California Department of Health Care Services, Managed Care Quality and Monitoring Division. She has 15 years of experience in public-health program development and implementation. Swift currently supports the development, implementation and monitoring of projects and managed-care policies, including those related to the child-welfare liaison and managed-care plan memoranda of understanding. 

Amara Bahramiaref is a Staff Services Manager III with the California Department of Health Care Services, Managed Care Policy Branch. She has served nearly a decade at DHCS, and currently oversees the development, implementation and monitoring of key initiatives such as the child-welfare liaison policy, Whole Child Model and managed-care memoranda of understanding, which strengthen care coordination across third-party entities serving Medi-Cal members. She holds a master’s degree in health-care administration with a concentration in management and change in health care. 

Anna Nguyen is a Staff Services Manager I of the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Early Childhood & Health Systems Integration Unit, which oversees early childhood, Medi-Cal and Specialty Mental Health Services policies for children and youth involved in child welfare. She has nearly a decade of experience in roles such as child-welfare social worker and child-development and trauma researcher. Nguyen holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles and a master’s degree in social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Jacqueline Carmona is an Associate Governmental Program Analyst in the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Early Childhood and Health Systems Integration Unit. She is the CDSS project lead for Enhanced Care Management, Community Supports, and Managed-Care Plan Memoranda of Understanding. She holds a bachelor's degree in child and adolescent development and an associate degree in early childhood education, and has over a decade of experience working with children and youth in various settings. 

Kim Pearson has worked for Sacramento County’s Department of Child, Family and Adult Services (DCFAS) Child Protective Services and Quality Management and Administrative Services for over 26 years. She has held placement services and leadership roles throughout the agency, including foster home licensing, quality assurance, prevention programs, voluntary services programs, emergency response, court investigations, permanency and adoptions. She currently works closely with community contracted and non-contracted providers to enhance DCFAS’ contracting process. She has been honored with the Guardian of Hope Award, the Sacramento County Foster Parent Association’s Outstanding Service Award, the Exceptional Woman of Color Award and the Innovation for Children Award. 

Barbara Oleachea, MSW, currently serves as County Liaison for Sacramento County’s Department of Children, Family and Adult Services, Child Protective Services. With more than 23 years of experience in the child welfare field, she began her career as a social worker and now contributes as a human services program planner. In her current role, Oleachea leads CPS efforts for the Early Intervention Family Treatment Court and oversees a three-year Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention grant that leverages cultural broker services to improve outcomes for Black and African American families impacted by substance use. She has also served on the local Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board.