County program manager outlines sequential‑intercept model, warns Medicaid work requirements could cut services

A county staff member (Unidentified Speaker (S2)) gave an extended quarterly update on a locally funded outreach and reentry position using the sequential intercept model, which targets interventions at community, detention, reentry and supervision stages.

"So this last quarter, there was 13 diverted," the staffer reported, then listed October (32 clients, 13 new), November (26 clients, 11 new) and December (22 clients, 10 new). The staffer said the role includes case management, coordinating warm handoffs, arranging telehealth inside jails and partnering with CFR for substance‑abuse evaluations that can lead to inpatient treatment.

The staffer warned of major barriers: few local community‑living providers, long wait lists, and inconsistent follow‑through from some prisons when people are released. They flagged an imminent state change requiring 80 hours of employment to maintain Medicaid eligibility. "I'm just for I'm not for sure if you're all familiar with the fact that they passed that in order to keep Medicaid, you're gonna have to have 80 hours of employment," the presenter said, adding that many clients "are not able to do a 20 week hour job" and that losing Medicaid could disrupt access to medications and critical injections used in severe mental‑health cases.

Supervisors asked about staffing, partnerships, and whether federal/state HHS funding changes would affect the justice grant that supports the position; the staffer said the work is supported by a justice grant and, as of their report, is not affected but must be re‑applied for annually. The board received the report and asked staff to continue outreach and to brief the board on January numbers at a future meeting.