Returning Citizens Community Connections

HealthCare Access Maryland, a community-based non-profit organization based in Baltimore, Maryland, will implement a 3-year project, Returning Citizens Community Connections, to support community re-entry and improve access to primary care, behavioral health treatment, and recovery support programs. Community Health Workers will engage returning citizens in 60-days of intensive post-release, individualized care coordination services.  

Primary activities will include assistance to enroll in Medicaid insurance coverage, navigation and establishment of primary care and community-based mental health and substance use treatment and recovery services, and connection to community-based services addressing social needs. The program is designed to identify and address Social Determinants of Health, the personal conditions and factors that affect one’s wellness and health outcomes. Program participants will be assessed to identify Social Determinants of Health needs and receive assistance to access services meeting those needs, including transportation, housing, workforce development, and food access. Program participants will also receive transportation assistance to attend health appointments and support to receive government identification, birth certificates, and vaccination records that are essential to returning citizens successfully accessing many health and social services. 

The Returning Citizens Community Connections program will serve a target population of adults released from a Maryland correctional facility with a diagnosed mental health condition, substance use disorder, or co-occurring disorders and who are returning to Baltimore City, Baltimore County, or Anne Arundel County jurisdictions. HealthCare Access Maryland will work in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and its clinical care vendors to identify eligible program participants, meet with clients within Maryland correctional facilities prior to release, and to track data and outcomes for 12 months post-release. 

HealthCare Access Maryland will serve a minimum of 750 returning citizens during the 3-year project. The program aims to improve re-entry and reduce recidivism by increasing access to medical and behavioral health care, and recovery-support and social services in the community.