Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board awards UICOMR Department of Family and Community Medicine funding for transition of care services
Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board Awards the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford Department of Family and Community Medicine Funding for Transition of Care Services for the Justice-Involved Population Heading link
Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board (WCCMHB) has awarded the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford (UICOMR) Department of Family and Community Medicine a funding amount of $327,933 to continue to provide medical, mental health, substance abuse and supportive services for inmates released from the Winnebago County Jail. The program, Compassionate Appreciation for Recovery in Everyone (CARE), connects inmates at the Winnebago County Jail with services at the UI Health Mile Square Health Center-L.P. Johnson Rockford to receive immediate services as early as the same day they are released. The burden of medical and behavioral health conditions affecting the justice-involved population in Winnebago County is markedly high. The Department of Family and Community Medicine has provided around-the-clock medical services at the Winnebago County Jail since 2005.
“The commitment of our department and the county to provide comprehensive care to those in need is one of the actualized ideals that drew me to UICOMR”, says Joseph Garry, MD, head of the Department of Family and Community Medicine. “We are thankful for the support of the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board to address a real gap in the translation of services from the jail to the community.
“With funding support from the WCCMHB, the CARE Program is able to address the critical needs experienced by justice-involved individuals. By providing access to these appropriate treatments and services, we are able to address the many barriers and challenges faced by these individuals upon re-entry into the community,” says Alesia Jones, PhD, principal investigator for the CARE Program, an associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and assistant dean for diversity, equity and inclusion at UICOMR.
As a funded partner of the WCCMHB, the Department of Family and Community Medicine at UICOMR joins an integrated network of programs that share a commitment to providing quality mental health and substance use services and programs to the adults of Winnebago County. WCCMHB invests in local nonprofits and governmental entities that provide mental health services and substance use treatment in Winnebago County through a voter-approved half-cent sales tax.
Visit the Department of Family and Community Medicine for more information about its services.
Visit WCCMHB for more information on their partner organizations and how to get involved in their funding process.