December 17, 2024
Dear Colleague:
As we close out 2024, we find ourselves standing at the precipice of a new era in healthcare and justice. The release of HRSA’s Policy Information Notice (PIN) 2024-05, Health Center Program Policy Guidance Regarding Services to Support Transitions in Care for Justice-Involved Individuals Reentering the Community, marks a groundbreaking shift in how we approach the health needs of justice-involved individuals by allowing Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to provide certain health services to incarcerated people within 90 days of their expected release date.
This guidance empowers FQHCs to play a transformative role in providing critical care for individuals transitioning out of incarceration. By addressing systemic barriers that have long prevented justice-involved populations—particularly communities of color—from accessing quality health care, this policy has the potential to significantly reduce racial disparities in both the health and justice systems.
The origins of this transformative moment can be traced back to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s vision in funding Community Oriented Correctional Health Services (COCHS) in 2006. Recognizing the that individuals in jail were temporarily displaced community members, the Foundation catalyzed a movement to connect community health systems with justice-involved populations. Their early leadership demonstrated the profound role that philanthropy can play in driving systemic change, paving the way for the significant progress we see today.
This policy reflects the culmination of nearly two decades of advocacy, collaboration, and innovation, led by countless stakeholders and organizations committed to advancing health equity. Its implications are profound: healthier communities, and a bridge that seamlessly connects the justice and health systems.
Key impacts of this policy include:
- Expanding Access to Care: Justice-involved individuals now have greater opportunities to connect while incarcerated with local community health centers, fostering continuity of care both inside and outside carceral settings.
- Broadening the Role of FQHCs: Community health centers are now empowered to serve populations in spaces historically excluded from traditional care systems, including justice-involved individuals with significant health needs.
- Driving Bipartisan Collaboration: This policy reflects a rare convergence of support across political divides, with stakeholders united in their commitment to health equity and justice reform.
- Engaging Multiple Systems: The development of this guidance brought together HRSA, CMS, OMB, and DOJ—illustrating the breadth of interagency collaboration required to make this policy a reality.
- Addressing Disparities: By targeting justice-involved populations disproportionately affected by systemic inequities during incarceration, this policy takes a meaningful step toward dismantling racial disparities in health and justice.
Now that this policy change has been made, the next step is implementation. Bringing FQHCs into the correctional environment will require technical assistance, coalition-building and expertise in both correctional and healthcare environments. COCHS is very excited to engage in the challenges ahead.
Sincerely,
Daniel Mistak
Director of Health Care Initiatives for Justice-Involved Populations,
Community Oriented Correctional Health Services (COCHS)