Salazar Penalty Escrow Fund
The Salazar Escrow fund is an interest-bearing account established by the Clerk of the United States Court for the District of Columbia, known as the Salazar Penalty Escrow Account, with funds provided by the District of Columbia pursuant to a Court Order issued on April 27, 2010. In that Order, the Court levied penalties against the District of Columbia for having consistently failed to meet Court-ordered deadlines in the Settlement Order in Salazar v. District of Columbia, Civ. Action No. 93-452. The fund exists for the benefit of the Plaintiff class of Medicaid eligible children in the District of Columbia up to age 21.
The Salazar Penalty Escrow has funded the following projects:
In May 2011, the development of a report, Implications for the District of Columbia of Contemporary Approaches to Measuring Quality of Well-Child Services for Medicaid Enrolled Children, authored by the National Academy for State Health Policy. The report addressed challenges facing the District of Columbia Department of Health Care Finance in accessing and using accurate data concerning the delivery of Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment Services (EPSDT) and provided recommendations for meeting those challenges.
In August 2011, The purchase of two LeadCare II instruments for testing blood lead levels in children in the District of Columbia.
In February 2019, an improvement project among pediatric practices in the District of Columbia developed by the District of Columbia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to increase the delivery of blood lead testing to young children in the District of Columbia in conformance with EPSDT services.
In January 2020, an additional purchase of point-of-care blood lead testing equipment and supplies for use by nine clinics serving DC Medicaid children within Unity Healthcare and Mary’s Center for the duration of the Blood Lead Testing Project.
In February 2020, a Children’s National Oral Health Project to address barriers to pediatric dental care among Medicaid eligible children in Wards 7 and 8 in the District of Columbia. The project’s goal was to improve communication between a child’s primary pediatric center and dental home by referring children at well-child visits without a dental home to a Community Dental Health Coordinator to coordinate dental care. More information about the project is available in the Children’s National Grant Final Report. As reported in Preventive Oral Health Care Access, a focus group of caregivers and providers conducted in 2023 identified many factors that impact access to preventive dental care by Medicaid eligible children in the District of Columbia.
As of March 2025, funds still remain to be spent for the benefit of the Plaintiff class.