Recorded presentation

Marisela Gomez, PhDMDMPH, Bloomberg School of Public Health/Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins University, 625 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, 4102303223, mgomez@jhsph.edu

Correctional institutions have been forced to address the issue of adequate health care delivery. This comes only after increasing reports of mental illness and substance abuse prevalence in this population. The Juvenile Justice population has also been increasingly shown to require access to similar health services. However, correctional settings have not traditionally included health care in its goal of ‘rehabilitation’ and ‘treatment’. In fact –in these settings- the use of these terms refer to ineffective and insufficient attempts at rehabilitation and treatment of criminogenic risk factors without consideration of the role of health in criminal behavior. In the Juvenile Justice population, health risk factors are even more important to identify and treat due to the growing research on their role in delinquent behavior. Identifying these risk factors would help in designing appropriate prevention programs to inhibit or decrease delinquency. Within correctional institutions, who are the people planning and implementing health programs? How do they decide what types of health programs are necessary, and when and where should screening, diagnosis and treatment occur? Most importantly, does a system whose culture has become increasingly punitive understand why health services must be provided to clients in their custody? Using the Juvenile Justice System in the state of Maryland as an example, this presentation will highlight how the value and implementation of health services continue to challenge correctional systems in their traditional understanding of ‘rehabilitation’ and ‘treatment’.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to

• Discuss the current status of health care delivery in Juvenile Justice Systems
• List reasons why appropriate health services are necessary in Juvenile Justice systems and general correctional settings.
• Identify strategies for assuring appropriate heatlh care services are present in correctional settings

Keywords: Access to Health Care, Correctional Institutions

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation