Program Example
California: Community Re-Entry Program
Veterans Administration and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department
Outreach staff from the Community Reentry Program assess inmates with military service records in the LA County Jail prior to their release and provide links to needed services, including but not limited to services provided by the Veterans Administration itself.
Program Established: 1997
Description
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department sends the names of inmates who report during screening that they are veterans to the Veterans Administration– run Los Angeles Ambulatory Health Center Community Reentry Program, allowing outreach staff from the program to identify and offer assessment and service linkages to eligible inmates.
Outreach staff provide connections to health care, housing, and financial benefits provided by the VA. They can also serve as advocates for incarcerated veterans within the criminal justice system and in obtaining services from other communitybased organizations.
Outcomes
Specialized outreach services were found to be modestly effective in linking veterans who become incarcerated with VA health care services, according to a two-year study of veterans contacted while they were incarcerated at the LA County jail and homeless veterans contacted in community settings (“Health Status, Service Use, and Costs Among Veterans Receiving Outreach Services in Jail or Community Settings,” Psychiatric Services, February 2003).Contact
Coordinator, Community Re-entry Program, VA Los Angeles Ambulatory Care CenterPhone: (213) 253-2677, ext. 1 or ext. 4787
351 East Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Our Publications
How and Why Medicaid Matters for People with Serious Mental Illness Released from Jail
Hundreds of thousands of people with mental illness are released from jail each year. Without continuity of care, they are likely to be reincarcerated. Enrollment in Medicaid increases access to treatment for people with mental illness released from jail, who typically lack other means to pay for those services.
Related Information
Special Project:
Reentry and Federal Benefits
Special Project:
Community Partnerships