The State of Alaska Department of Health (DOH), in partnership with the Departments of Corrections (DOC) and Family and Community Services (DFCS), seek funding through the Centers for Medicaid Services (CMS) grant opportunity Section 206 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, to enhance continuity of care for justice-involved youth transitioning out of carceral settings. This project aims to build a robust, interconnected communication system to ensure seamless care coordination, improve access to Medicaid services, and reduce health disparities for justice-involved youth as they reintegrate into the community. This project will focus on addressing the current gaps in care continuity for justice-involved youth exiting carceral settings, ensuring that they can access critical health services, with Medicaid coverage secured upon release. By developing an integrated communication and health management system between DOH, DOC, and DFCS, this initiative will foster improved care coordination, provide necessary technology support, and prepare carceral agencies to deliver pre-release healthcare services.
• Contractor Support for Planning and Stakeholder Engagement
• Subrecipient Funding to Carceral Agencies
• Communication Network and Technology Infrastructure
The CMS grant opportunity will be used for the following activities and goals. By the end of the grant period, all carceral settings in Alaska will be fully integrated into the communication system, ensuring the timely identification and tracking of justice-involved youth for care coordination. All carceral agencies will have the necessary technological infrastructure to provide telehealth services to justice-involved youth in the 30 days leading up to their release, ensuring access to necessary pre-release health interventions.
By the end of the grant period, all carceral agencies will be ready or actively enrolled as Medicaid providers, with full support for billing within the Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS).
This project will improve the health outcomes of justice-involved youth in Alaska by reducing barriers to care, promoting continuity of care upon reentry, and ensuring access to Medicaid and other health services. Additionally, it will strengthen interdepartmental collaboration, improve health data sharing, and enhance the capacity of carceral agencies to deliver critical health services. These efforts will ultimately contribute to the reduction of recidivism rates and improve the overall well-being of this vulnerable population.
The requested funds will enable the development of a scalable model that can be used across Alaska’s justice and health systems to support the long-term health and reintegration of justice-involved youth.
