Connecting Corrections and Benefits Data for Successful Reentry

Every year, hundreds of thousands of formerly incarcerated people lose the Medicaid and SNAP benefits that they qualify for, often for routine, clerical issues. A change of address, a missed notice, or complicated paperwork can be the difference between someone having health care or not. Through our work with departments of corrections and trusted reentry partners across the country, we know that people face these challenges when steady health care and food assistance matter most—in the first weeks and months after release.

When people leaving prison have health care, they’re more likely to succeed in the community. Research has shown that access to Medicaid helped to reduce the number of times someone is reimprisoned within a year by 11.5%. And every $1 spent on coverage for people leaving prison generates at least $3.45 in benefits to society, much of it from reduced crime.

Corrections agencies already have the information that would help people stay enrolled, including verified addresses, employment records, and treatment enrollment. What if corrections agencies gave people a way for their information to be shared with benefits agencies, so that people could keep their benefits? 

We’re thrilled to receive a grant from the latest round of the Public Benefit Innovation Fund (PBIF) to address this challenge. PBIF helps governments test and scale new ways to make essential benefits easier to access. With this funding, we’ll build, pilot, and evaluate a data bridge between corrections departments and benefits agencies. Our goal is that returning citizens keep the benefits that help them succeed after release, staff shed redundant work, and states get more mileage out of the data they already collect. 

This work comes at a critical time. New Medicaid rules go into effect on January 1, 2027, adding a slate of new requirements and hurdles—especially for populations like ours, who have higher health needs, more frequent moves, and are more likely to be self-employed or doing contract work. Without a direct data pipeline to corrections information, much of this verification will fall to staff of both agencies, and ultimately on the individuals themselves. We look forward to helping states meet these requirements more efficiently. 

Thank you to the Center for Civic Futures for their support. Read more about the Public Benefit Innovation Fund.

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