Each year in the United States, more than 600,000 individuals are released from state and federal prisons, and 9 million people cycle through local jails.
Among them are people with disabilities, people of color, and multiply marginalized groups; populations that are overrepresented in carceral institutions. The process of reentry—the transition from prison or jail to living in the community—greatly impacts and may even determine the continued health, wellbeing, and access to support networks for individuals with disabilities after incarceration.
Medicaid plays a critical role for most people leaving incarceration by providing access to healthcare coverage. For people with disabilities, Medicaid is even more important because it can cover home- and community-based services (HCBS) that provide assistance with daily activities ranging from personal care to transportation to employment supports.
Disabled individuals face considerable barriers to accessing Medicaid and other supports they need at reentry, leaving a setting where their long-term services and supports (LTSS) needs are likely not met and navigating a patchwork of underfunded programs in the community. Moreover, disabled people of color returning to the community experience unique and intersecting discrimination in accessing housing, employment, and community-based support.
This brief examines barriers people with disabilities, including older adults, face when released from incarceration in accessing LTSS. We discuss current policy initiatives to increase Medicaid access, examine gaps in access to HCBS and other supports, and identify promising practices to address those gaps. Based on our research, we propose policy initiatives aimed at supporting disabled people to successfully reenter through improving access to HCBS.
Access the full brief, Access to HCBS for People with Disabilities Leaving Incarceration