A Novel Reentry Hotline Led by Community Health Workers to Address the Health Needs of People Returning From Incarceration: Transitions Clinic Network, California, June 2020‒June 2023.

The article focuses on a California reentry health care hotline established by the Transitions Clinic Network (TCN), a nonprofit organization employing community health workers (CHWs) with lived experience of incarceration to support people transitioning from incarceration. Launched in June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the hotline provided time-sensitive assistance linking 1,276 callers to medical care, Medicaid enrollment, medications for opioid use disorder, and social services across 46 counties through peer-led support. The intervention addressed critical gaps in care coordination for justice-involved individuals, particularly during a period of disrupted services, and highlighted the importance of culturally competent, peer-driven approaches in improving health equity. The hotline's sustainability faces funding challenges, but it remains a key resource integrated into California's prison discharge process and offers a model relevant to states pursuing Medicaid reforms for justice-involved populations.