CIN Community,

As we wrap 2023, the CIN team extends our deepest appreciation to each of you. The CIN community is naturally made up of people who are striving to go above and beyond in how social services and health care are provided in California. We recognize the efforts that our members are making – collectively and individually – to dig deeper, stretch further, and do more. 

And so we encourage you to take time for yourself during this season of rest and recuperation and to applaud yourself and your teams in all that you’ve accomplished this year. Take a moment to soak it in and enjoy knowing that you’ve helped many people this year.

As cross-sector partnerships between social services and health care organizations multiply and grow, collaborators must nurture ways to develop and maintain funding models that are sustainable for all involved.

In this CIN webinar, led by Dustin Harper from the Institute on Aging and Amy Scribner from CIN partner Health Plan of San Mateo, we’ll hear how these two organizations have partnered to advance services for people in long-term care by offering additional supports outside of traditional programs and systems. They will discuss their challenges around developing a shared funding model to build and support community-facing programs in long-term care and offer advice for co-funding challenges.

Attendees should come prepared to actively participate as reflection and discussion will be core elements of this webinar. Register now to attend or to be notified when the recording is available for replay. This event is offered free of charge. Please share this invitation with your network!

Maternal and child health disparities among Black patients have garnered overdue attention lately. Health Net, a CIN partner and Medi-Cal managed care health plan, has provided $150,000 for the creation of the California Coalition for Black Birth Justice to support statewide collaboration and coordination among Black birth equity and justice efforts.

The Coalition’s agenda identifies three action areas to advance Black birth equity in California:

Long-term investments in innovation, collaboration, and leadership by Black-led organizations should foster improvements in such disparities. Learn more about all of Health Net's efforts to drive health equity.

‘Makers Residency’ Offers Fellowship to Community Leaders Developing Solutions

Staff at social services organizations recognize that the causes of health inequities are complex, diverse, and intertwined. As well, staff with lived experience grasp the systemic intricacies and are well positioned to envision potential solutions within the framework of their community’s strengths and resources. To support innovation, Health Leads will provide $20,000 each, with ongoing support and coaching, to five leaders of community-based organizations to design potential solutions that address inequities over 10 weeks.

Adequate nutrition is essential to whole-person health. A new initiative invites community organizations and advocates working in the food-security arena to consider this RFP from Share Our Strength, in partnership with co-designers Benefits Data Trust and HealthBegins. The initiative will fund organizations or coalitions to support either advocacy for policy changes or implementation of promising policy initiative(s) for food-security within the state Medicaid program. Grantees will receive $70,000 for an 18-month period as well as learning opportunities and individualized technical assistance.

After publishing watershed research on the negative experiences of Black Californians in the health care system, the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) will fund projects that address anti-Black racism through clinical interventions that measurably improve the health outcomes and health care experiences of Black Californians. CHCF will support five to eight projects that have the potential to accelerate change in delivery system policies and practices in the near term. Interventions may be among Medi-Cal, Medicare, commercial insurance enrollees, or some combination. Hospitals, clinics, Federally Qualified Health Centers, academic medical centers, and medical practices are encouraged to apply.

While Black people have comparable rates of substance use disorder to those of White people, Black people are more likely to die from an overdose and are 23% less likely to receive a buprenorphine prescription for opioid use disorder. Black patients face more severe consequences for substance use disorders and experience worse outcomes. How can treatment and other interventions be made more equitable?

Researchers recruited focus groups and facilitated conversations among substance users and addiction experts. Read about what they learned and how recommendations will be developed to improve policies at Boston Medical Center.