What research priorities will support data-driven, evidence-based approaches to health care in the juvenile justice system?
Children and adolescents in the juvenile justice system represent a substantial public health concern. On an average day, approximately 100,000 young people are housed in juvenile justice residential facilities and about one-half million are on court-ordered community supervision. An additional 100,000 young people are on informal probation supervision. These young people are medically underserved in the community; they are underinsured and are less likely to have a “medical home.” For these youth, incarceration is an opportunity to access the support they need for their longstanding health conditions including substance abuse problems and infectious diseases. This is important work for protecting society because individuals move from the community, through the juvenile justice system, and back into the community in a relatively short timeframe. Providing effective health care interventions helps to ensure that diseases are limited or eliminated before they reach back to homes and comm
