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County highlights NC FIT reentry work and local partnerships to reduce recidivism
Summary
The council heard about NC FIT (reentry program) run by Operation Gateway with MAHEC and Winch's; county funds a community health worker and cited state outcomes showing lower ED use, hospitalizations and reduced recidivism in partner counties.
Lee Creighton described NC FIT, a reentry and transition program operating in Buncombe County through Operation Gateway with clinical partnerships. He said the program connects formerly incarcerated people with chronic disease, mental health and substance-use treatment using a community health worker model; the county is funding one community health worker via TEP net funds.
Creighton cited state-level evaluations and partner-county data: at the UNC School of Medicine level, he said 75% of patients in the program had no emergency-department visits after release and 81% had no hospitalizations; Mecklenberg county data cited a 2-year recidivism rate for program participants of 16% versus a three-year baseline near 40%. Creighton said the program has worked with roughly 186 patients locally during the prior year and a half and has newly established a partnership with Winch's to expand services.
Council members discussed how the program could be better integrated with jail screening and pre-release coordination to reduce reincarceration. No formal funding vote was taken; staff noted the county's current TEP net funding supports one county-funded community health worker position.
