Hiring range: $70,000 - $86,000
The UNC Formerly Incarcerated Transition (FIT) Program is situated within the Department of Family Medicine at UNC Chapel Hill. The FIT Program is a partnership between UNC Family Medicine, the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (DAC) (which administers the state prison system), Federally Qualified Health Centers, County Departments of Health, community-based organizations, and local reentry councils. The FIT Program coordinates with existing state and local resources to assist people coming out of incarceration with connections to essential health services. A specially trained Community Health Worker (CHW), with prior justice system involvement, acts as a peer navigator to connect to services.
FIT was designed to leverage existing community and statewide investments in reentry and address the absence of linkages to essential healthcare for people coming out of incarceration that suffer from chronic disease, mental illness, and/or substance use disorder. FIT is modeled on an evidence-based program developed by the Transitions Clinic Network (TCN), which has demonstrated reduced utilization of emergency services, hospitalizations, and days incarcerated. FIT CHWs are integrated into their local community health center and assist clients upon reentry in establishing care at a primary care medical home, and if needed, obtain mental health and substance use disorder treatment. CHWs also assist clients with all aspects of reentry including housing, job training, legal needs, education, transportation, life skills, and interactions with the justice system. The mission of the FIT Program is to empower community members upon their return from incarceration to become self-sufficient and to reach their health and wellness goals. Since its inception, FIT has taken on additional projects that align with the program's mission to improve health outcomes and decrease recidivism for formerly incarcerated people.
In 2022, the FIT Program launched a pilot program, FIT Wellness, to provide integrated psychiatric and primary care services to individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) returning to the community following incarceration in Wake County. Following the success of the pilot, the state provided funding to continue the program in Wake County and expand FIT Wellness services to additional counties.
The Wake County FIT Operations Supervisor is a hybrid position responsible for the day-to-day operational management of Wake County FIT and FIT Wellness services. This position provides direct supervision to (currently five) Community Health Workers and oversees daily workflows, clinical operations, staff development, and implementation of program policies to ensure high-quality, patient-centered care. The position serves as the operational lead for Wake County FIT and FIT Wellness while working collaboratively with FIT Program leadership on quality improvement, program implementation, and operational planning.