People returning to communities after incarceration face significant health challenges, including high rates of mental illness and substance use disorders. This population also encounters substantial barriers to accessing health care services and faces difficulty meeting key health-related social needs (HRSN), such as housing, healthy food, and employment. The reentry period, leading up to and immediately following release from prison or jail, is a critical window to facilitate access to care and stability needed to promote good health for those leaving incarceration.

Health care organizations and correctional facilities are increasingly partnering to address behavioral health outcomes during reentry through evidence-based interventions, both within correctional settings and in the community following release. These interventions include medications for addiction treatment, case management, referrals to address HRSN, and peer support.

Behavioral health care providers, correctional facilities, policymakers, health plans, and community-based organizations can use this Better Care Playbook Collection to understand evidence-based strategies to better address the behavioral health needs of people during reentry and learn about promising implementation strategies.