News
Paroled from Prison with HIV.. now what?
- A staggering 10 million people are released from incarceration every year in the US—8.6 million people are temporarily held in jails while criminal justice proceedings, and 597,000 are paroled from prisons after completing sentences. “The sheer magnitude of the incarcerated population and the disproportionate prevalence of HIV infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) within the criminal justice system (CJS),” Sandra Springer, MD, of the AIDS Program at Yale University School of Medicine writes, “result in 16.9 percent of all HIV-infected individuals in the U.S. being within the CJS annually.”
With the huge number of incarcerated individuals being put back into mainstream 5 big problems need to be addressed:
1)pre-and post-release case management 2)continuation of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy if positive 3)treatment of substance use disorders 4)continuation of mental illness treatment 5)reduction of behaviors associated with the ongoing transmission of HIV.
Prisoners face many obstacles upon release not to mention if they have any medical conditions. With today’s Government & State Budget Cuts, more & more programs are being reduced or cut back thus the cycle continues. Without proper case management & guidance, the chances of those individuals infecting others with HIV, STI/STD’s or going back to crime is high. We can only hope that someday the system will work correctly. ARE does its best to serve the needs of the incarcerated in the surrounding counties.
Tom Thayer
source: http://www.aidsmeds.com/articles/hiv_prison_incarceration_1667_20999.shtml
Tagged AIDS Response Effort Inc, ARE, court systems for hiv, criminal justice, detainees, government cutbacks, HIV, HIV & prison, HIV treatment, incarcerated, inmates & HIV, jails, mental illness & HIV, paroles, prisons, state cutbacks, substance abuse & HIV
