Friday, April 4, 2025
4/4/2025
Quality Improvement Fund - Justice Involved - Project Title: Quality Improvement Fund- Transitions in Care for Justice-Involved Populations Applicant Organization Name: Korean Community Services, Inc. Project Director: Ellen Ahn, JD, MSW Korean Community Services, Inc. (KCS) is applying for funding under the Quality Improvement Fund - Transitions for Justice-Involved Populations (QIF-TJI) (HRSA-25-005). Our program will provide transitions in care for individuals within 90 days of release from incarceration in the Orange County Jail System. KCS Health Center was designated as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in 2019. Our comprehensive scope of services includes primary medical, dental, behavioral health services, and a robust substance use disorder (SUD) program. Thus, we seek funding to expand the breadth of these programs and enhance existing programs for individual’s pre-release and recently released from incarceration. As a designated FQHC, KCS Health Center provides an array of health care services to meet the needs of underserved populations. The integration of behavioral health services into primary care yields a collaborative system of care for patients with high levels of need for medical and behavioral health services. Using a patient-centered medical home approach, KCS Health Center is able to retain patients in treatment, provide comprehensive health care throughout the lifecycle, and address social determinants of health with support from our Case Managers who provide engagement with community resources to address health related social needs, which include housing insecurity, lack of transportation, food insecurity, and financial challenges. KCS Health Center has experience working with the carceral population since its original inception as a SUD treatment provider in 1992. Established relationships with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Orange County Jail System have enabled KCS Health Center to provide services for those recently released from incarceration. We utilize a SUD treatment model based on the foundational principles for outpatient treatment developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Use Treatment. Today, KCS Health Center’s SUD program, Freedom Health Initiative, is led by Dr. Mario San Bartolome, a board-certified Physician in Addiction Medicine and Family Medicine, and who will be a key champion on this initiative. Dr. Bartolome will provide ongoing training and support to our providers through a blend of didactic teaching, direct clinical experience, and ongoing supervision. Our comprehensive treatment model will incorporate primary care, medications, counseling, and behavioral therapies. We will utilize peer-based support which has proven to have a transforming effect on larger systems of care and society by enhancing long-term health- and addiction-related recovery outcomes and elevates public and professional perceptions of hope for recovery. We will look to recruit providers and staff who have experience working with ethnic populations, with an emphasis on bilingual providers. KCS Health Center will utilize a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate our program's efficacy in treating patients, which we will leverage for this initiative. Quantitative metrics such as patient retention rates, substance use frequency, and treatment adherence provide objective data on outcomes, while qualitative assessments through patient interviews, clinician feedback, and observational studies offer valuable insights into the subjective experiences and perceptions of both patients and providers. This comprehensive approach will ensure a robust understanding of the program's impact and enable continuous refinement to optimize patient care and outcomes.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).