The health center will receive $1 million to help incarcerated people in New Jersey prepare for re-entry

By Jackie Roman
nj.com

A nonprofit health clinic in South Jersey has received a $1 million federal grant to provide medical services to incarcerated people as they prepare to return home, including for chronic illnesses, mental illness and substance use disorders.

The financing for CAMcare Health Corporationwhich has seven locations in Camden and Gloucester counties, was announced Monday by the Health Resources and Services Managementan agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The services will be made available to incarcerated individuals scheduled for release within 90 days, the announcement said.

Federal officials said the funding will help health centers implement “innovative approaches to supporting” people getting out of prison and helping address health risks before their release. Studies have shown that people with a history of incarceration are in poorer mental and physical health than the general population.

“People returning to the community from incarceration are particularly vulnerable to poor health outcomes and mortality,” Carole Johnson, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, said in a statement.

“We can change this if care and services are more closely linked to the reentry experience. That’s why we’re working to clarify that health centers funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration can provide pre-release services and why we invest in health centers. “We engage with individuals prior to their release to better support their successful and healthy reentry into the community,” Johnson said.

CAMcare officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment this week.

According to a press release, CAMcare will use its grant to focus on treating chronic illnesses, reducing the risk of drug overdose, treating mental and substance use disorders, and preventing, screening, diagnosing and treating infectious diseases.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting people and families struggling with mental illness, about 80% of people released from prison nationwide each year suffer from a chronic illness, substance use or a psychiatric illness.

According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, people who are incarcerated are also more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, asthma, cancer, arthritis and infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis C and HIV.

Given the large number of people incarcerated each year, this is not a minority problem. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the U.S. incarceration rate increased by 220% between 1980 and 2014. Today, the incarcerated population is 15 times larger than it was in 1980, with about 5 million people behind bars, including people in federal and state prisons and local jails, according to federal data.

According to the New Jersey Department of Corrections, as of Jan. 1, there were 1,397 people incarcerated in correctional facilities in Camden County, accounting for 11% of the total incarcerated population. Two counties, Essex and Camden, account for 26% of the state’s total detention facilities.

Gloucester County, that was He shared prison duties with Salem for over a decade After the closure of its correctional facility in 2013, 299 people were incarcerated.

According to Monday’s announcement, CAMcare must also provide case management services for incarcerated individuals and work with community partners to address health-related social needs such as housing and food insecurity, financial burdens, transportation barriers and intimate partner violence.

The financing of CAMcare is part of fast Total prize money of $52 million for 54 federally funded health centers across the country to improve access to quality primary care for people soon to be released from prison and re-entering the community.

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