What is the state of health care in most juvenile detention centers?
The standard of care in most juvenile detention centers leaves a lot to be desired. There are numerous problems with delivering this kind of care. Almost all juvenile care is delivered either by public sector staff or by private providers who are not the same providers who would see the children in the community. Restrictions on reimbursement and the lack of adolescent health expertise seriously constrain the scope and quality of services available to juveniles in detention. How is the Juvenile Justice Center in Alameda County different from other detention centers? First and foremost, we bought in a nationally recognized provider in adolescent health, which also happens to be Alameda’s single largest community-based adolescent health care provider, into our juvenile detention facility. We ensured that our scope of practice was consistent with best practices in the pediatric community. We hired board-certified professionals in adolescent health who also have adolescent health as their
