CALIFORNIA RELEASES FIRST IMPACT REPORT ON GROUNDBREAKING JUSTICE-INVOLVED REENTRY INITIATIVE
Nearly 160,000 Pre-Release Services and Prescriptions Delivered
SACRAMENTO — The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) today released the
impact report on the first year of California’s
Justice-Involved Reentry Initiative. This first-in-the-nation program provides targeted Medi-Cal services to incarcerated individuals up to 90 days before release, closing critical gaps in care and supporting safer, more stable returns to communities.
“California is leading the way in implementing safer, more effective reentry strategies,” said DHCS Director Michelle Baass. “By connecting people to community-based care before they leave incarceration, we’re improving individual health, strengthening families, and building safer communities. This initiative shows what’s possible when agencies work together to create real, lasting change.”
IMPACT TO DATE: The report highlights significant progress in the first year of the initiative, including strong collaboration among state agencies, counties, managed care plans, and community partners. The report also provides stories of individuals who have benefited from these services. In its first year, the initiative delivered more than 159,000 billable pre-release services and prescriptions and enrolled more than 24,000 incarcerated individuals in Medi-Cal prior to release.
“Before this initiative, without consistent communication, medical and corrections teams, despite being in the same facility, weren’t always aligned,” said Yuba County Project Manager Stephanie Lucio. “This effort has truly brought everyone to the table. Collaborating, sharing expertise, and building a solid reentry plan together has been invaluable.”
October 2025 marked one year since the initiative launched, a milestone for this cross-agency effort involving DHCS, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS), county agencies (including county behavioral health, public health, probation, social services, and sheriff’s offices), Medi-Cal managed care plans, and community-based organizations. Since October 2024, all 31 state prison facilities and 34 county jails and youth correctional facilities across 14 counties have launched pre-release services. Nearly two dozen additional facilities are preparing to begin offering services to their populations in the next few months. All correctional facilities statewide are required to go live before October 1, 2026.
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT: People leaving incarceration often face untreated health conditions and lack access to care, increasing risks of overdose, hospitalization, and recidivism. By starting Medi-Cal before release and coordinating connections to care in the community, California is reducing these risks and improving health equity. The Justice-Involved Reentry Initiative includes:
- Care management to support reentry planning and link individuals to community providers after release, including warm handoffs to community care management.
- Mental health services and substance use disorder treatment, including counseling, medications, and warm handoffs to ensure continuity of care after release.
- Prescription medications to ensure continuity of care, including medications in hand upon release from incarceration.
- Physical health care for chronic conditions and acute and preventive needs.
- Community health worker services to support reentry.
- Laboratory and radiology services.
- Durable medical equipment upon release.
“We initiate reentry planning and Medi-Cal coverage well before a patient is due to be released, ensuring a warm handoff to community services,” said Dawn Freeman, the CCHCS Chief Nurse Executive overseeing the Justice-Involved Reentry Initiative. “It’s provided enormous reassurance and a greater sense of stability among this population, a critical component for health care and substance use treatment. Individuals expressed they feel better prepared knowing they have available resources, someone to connect with, and are no longer alone.”