Public Health
“For decades, in the summertime, America has confined certain of its youth in what are essentially open-air heat camps. In city after city, camp-form is established through the enactment of warm-weather juvenile curfews which keep the youth at home or in state-sponsored centers during summer nights and, increasingly, during days as well. Local governments justify…
The Health and Reentry Project highlights promising Medicaid policy changes that promote continuity of care for young people returning to their communities following incarceration. The changes will support reentry for young people who are eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program by introducing them to services that would start 30 days before release…
From the abstract: “The discipline of public health has begun to recognize the structural inequities of the carceral system as drivers of poor individual and population health. Thenumberofpeopleincarceratedandthelengthoftheirincarcerationdeterminethescopeandgravityoftheirexposureto these individual and public health effects. Plea bargains all but guarantee a period of incarceration, often for many years, because prosecutors have significant bargaining power against defendants…
From the introduction: “We know how to support transgender youth. Policies, practices, and care that accept and affirm young people’s gender identities can help transgender young people thrive. Research clearly shows that support and acceptance from parents, using young people’s chosen names, enacting inclusive policies and practices at schools and in the community, and providing…
From the introduction: “Sleep is a biological necessity. If camping on public property is banned across the board, those without access to shelter must unequivocally break the law. Houseless individuals have therefore challenged the constitutionality of anti-camping ordinances on several occasions, particularly under the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause of the Eighth Amendment. In a…
The Center for Justice Innovation conducted an exploratory, participatory action research study of 103 youth ages 15-24 who reported carry guns in a neighborhood of Brooklyn. The research evaluates why these youth carry guns and proposing a collaborative approach to public safety. From the report: “The increase in gun violence experienced in many U.S.…
From the introduction: “This report summarizes changes in youth incarceration following the onset of COVID-19, the key factors that drove and supported Utah’s shift away from incarceration, and the work that the jurisdiction still must do to sustain and build on these early successes.”
From the introduction: “The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the dangers of the juvenile legal system; this should make it harder to look away from the societal inequities that are exacerbated by youth incarceration. Indeed, the current moment, including the unprecedented nationwide protests in response to the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in…
From the introduction: “Preventing, reducing, and improving interactions between autistic individuals and the criminal justice system are urgent research and policy priorities. Research should guide evidence-based programs and policies that limit unnecessary interactions between autistic individuals and the criminal justice system and address documented high rates of victimization among autistic individuals. A diverse team of…
This research report provides an overview of and recidivism rates for a unique multidisciplinary intervention program for youth charged with weapons offenses (GATE/JWOP Program). The report discusses the study methods, 6- and 12-month recidivism rates for the studied cohort, and potential for expansion of the program to applicable state and national jurisdictions. From the Discussion…
From the introduction: “This research brief will summarize findings on what is known about substance abuse treatment as it relates to public safety and the use of incarceration. Along with conducting a brief literature review, the Justice Policy Institute (JPI) has compared state data on drug treatment admissions to incarceration rates. While no single solution…
From the introduction: “This research brief will summarize recent findings on what is known about access to quality or substandard housing as it relates to public safety and the use of incarceration. Along with conducting a brief literature review, the Justice Policy Institute (JPI) has compared data on state housing expenditures with crime rates and…
