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County Probation brought together more than 70 community and healthcare partners at the Youth Transition Campus on Feb. 26 to strengthen coordination for youth reentering the community under the statewide California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) Justice Involved (JI) Initiative.
Staff from Probation’s Integrated Healthcare Services unit (IHSU), Probation Institutional Services and contracted healthcare services provider Correctional Healthcare Partners met with representatives from the County’s Behavioral Health Services Next Move program, local Managed Care Plans including Molina Healthcare and Blue Shield Promise as well as Enhanced Care Management (ECM) services providers including Family Health Center of San Diego, the Neighborhood House Association, La Maestra Community and the San Diego Center for Children.
The goal is to improve coordination and build stronger working relationships so youth receive medical, behavioral health and other services immediately after leaving custody. A similar meeting was held at the East Mesa Detention Facility the previous week.
CalAIM requires counties to provide structured pre-release services, Medi-Cal enrollment support, Enhanced Care Management and behavioral health linkages.
To meet those standards, County Probation created the Integrated Healthcare Services Unit to implement CalAIM requirements and strengthen healthcare governance for youth. The department redesigned internal processes, developed its own healthcare infrastructure and assumed the Medi-Cal eligibility screening and application support duties previously carried out by the County’s Health and Human Services Agency Self-Sufficiency Services. This shift allows Probation to guide youth and families through the full enrollment process, ensuring benefits are active at the time of release.
County Probation has long offered many of the services required under CalAIM’s 90-day pre-release requirements. Beginning October 2025, the department will be reimbursed for these services at the Youth Transition Campus and East Mesa Detention Facility, making San Diego one of the earliest probation departments in California to go-live under the new model.
Re-entry officers, mental health clinicians, enhanced care managers and pre-release care managers work together in a wraparound approach to support youth. “Beyond court requirements, a youth might say what’s really important to them is housing, getting a job,
going back to school or getting a phone,” said Betty Lemos-Arellano, a Behavioral Health Program Manager with the Integrated Healthcare Services Unit.
“We are excited about the program and are anticipating meaningful outcomes for the youth when they return to their communities,” Lemos-Arellano said. “We are hoping that the youth will have so much pre-release support and planning that when we let them go to fly, they will be far less likely, and have less reason, to come back to the facility. We want them to be successful.”
Since June 1, 2023, 1,425 youth have been screened for Medi-Cal eligibility. By embedding screening and application assistance into daily operations, Probation has made healthcare access a routine part of intake and release. The department’s model aligns physical health, behavioral health and substance use disorder services under dedicated clinical leadership. It also relies on shared data systems and strategic funding to support long-term sustainability.
Historically, youth in custody have faced barriers accessing healthcare, particularly during transitions back to the community. Before CalAIM, Medi-Cal applications were processed externally, leading to gaps in treatment and inconsistent connections to community providers.
By embedding this work directly within Probation, the department strengthened continuity of care and advanced a public-health-centered approach to youth re-entry, positioning San Diego County as a statewide example of justice-health integration.