NCJ Number
195757
Date Published
2002
Length
10 pages
Annotation
In this chapter, the author examined the New York State Commission of Correction’s (SCOC) inability to deal with HIV and its reflection on most correctional systems throughout the United States.
Abstract
There is an urgent need for correctional administrators to protect inmates and their families from acquiring and transmitting HIV/AIDS. This chapter illustrates that after 22 years of AIDS, both New York State and U.S. HIV/AIDS correctional populations have been marginalized, the victims of a system reluctant to adopt major strategies of humane treatment, education, and prevention. In 2001, New York had the largest number of HIV-positive inmates and inmates with AIDS. In New York, the State Commission of Correction’s (SCOC) is the State’s correctional regulatory agency and legally mandated to investigate and report on the condition of systems for the delivery of medical care to inmates of correctional facilities. A report issued by the Correctional Association of New York that reviewed services at 22 New York correctional facilities indicated uneven clinical management; vagueness among staff physicians about critical HIV/AIDS issues; extensive variations in HIV testing support services, and education; and an absence of prevention measures. In addition, the majority of inmates with HIV/AIDS survive their prison term and return back to their communities, typically in poor, inner-city communities of color. The AIDS in Prison Project calls for patient education and linkages to community HIV-prevention and disease management. Lastly, there has been resistance to prevention programming that allows access to condoms, clean needles and syringes, and dental dams. References