Clallam County sheriff’s reentry clinical services report cost savings and recommends dissolving county outpatient license
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Summary
Sheriff’s office clinical services staff reported the HCA Medicaid reentry program enrolled 246 people and referred dozens to behavioral health partners, documented a 65% reduction in county jail medication costs over a comparable period, and recommended dissolving the county’s TrueStar outpatient license as redundant.
Madison Galentine (speaker 8), clinic director for clinical services in the sheriff’s office, gave a progress report on Clallam County’s reentry program funded through Washington’s HCA Medicaid transformation waiver. The program enrolls incarcerated people up to 90 days before release, initiates Medicaid coverage at booking when eligible, connects clients with primary care and behavioral health partners, and provides a 30‑day supply of medications at release.
Galentine summarized operational challenges: many jailed individuals lack IDs, addresses and phones necessary for standard Medicaid enrollment, and a sizeable share (377 in the reported six‑month window) are released before staff can screen and enroll them. For July–December staff tracked 763 incarcerations (125 were repeat individuals) and reported 246 enrollments in reentry services; of those the team recorded 131 referrals to Peninsula Behavioral Health with 41 people continuing services after release.
The presentation included financial impacts: staff reported a drop in jail medication spending from about $54,000 in the prior six‑month period to just over $19,000 after program start (a ~65% decrease) and collection of nearly $190,000 in billable services during the period. Staff credited better billing practices expected after implementation of Epic and stressed persistent limits in staff capacity and manual data entry processes.
Staff recommended dissolving the county’s TrueStar outpatient license, arguing that county provision duplicates existing community providers, creates auditing burdens and consumes staff time. “We would be living in a world of audits,” staff said, adding that intentional dissolution (not accidental lapse) would save credentialing and administration time and could be reapplied in future if necessary. Commissioners asked for continued outreach to partners for feedback and recommended an annual cadence for reporting results to the board to track outcomes and budget implications.
No formal action was taken at the work session; staff will return with any necessary resolutions or policy options if the board decides to pursue license dissolution or other structural changes.
