Psychiatric and medical health care policies in juvenile detention facilities.
OBJECTIVE
Many adolescents admitted to detention facilities have serious mental and physical health problems. Little is known about policies for the delivery of mental and physical health care in these settings. Our objective was to describe current health care policies in U.S. detention facilities.


METHODS
Telephone interviews were requested from 83 juvenile detention facility administrators across the United States.


RESULTS
The response rate was 97.6%. Data were collected over 12 months, from 2003-2004. Policies for admission health screening existed in 99% of facilities; 90% included mental health screening. Most sites had policies about psychopharmacotherapy and 92% had crisis services. Continuation of existing psychotropic medication treatment was provided at 96% of facilities. Seventy-three percent of facilities used physicians to manage medications in-house; in 61% of the centers, these physicians were psychiatrists. Medication administration policies most often specified nurses, but 16% of facilities used guards. Provisions for discharge psychotropic medication existed at 84% of sites, but there was wide variation in dispensing policies.


CONCLUSIONS
Detention health care policies for adolescents have significant gaps, particularly for mental health care. Future research should include an epidemiological study of detained youths, evaluating their health needs and the actual care received.
Pajer
Kathleen A
KA
Columbus Children's Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43205, USA. pajerk@pediatrics.ohio-state.edu
Kelleher
Kelly
K
Gupta
Ravindra A
RA
Rolls
Jennifer
J
Gardner
William
W
D000293:Adolescent; D016497:Adolescent Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000296:Adolescent Psychiatry / Q000458:organization & administration; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016134:Organizational Policy; D011330:Prisons / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
D011619:Psychotropic Drugs