NCJ Number
107773
Journal
Journal of Legal Medicine Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (1987) Pages: 191-263
Date Published
1987
Length
73 pages
Annotation
The legal and ethical dilemmas faced by health care professionals serving incarcerated juveniles are examined, with emphasis on the role of the standards developed by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) and on appropriate conduct in cases where neither existing case law and standards provide adequate guidance.
Abstract
Courts and developers of standards agree that incarcerated juveniles have a right to adequate health care, including treatment for mental illness. However, health care services do not currently meet the needs. In addition, disciplinary practices used in public and private juvenile correctional institutions sometimes constitute child abuse. Health care professionals commonly face four types of situations: (1) inability to give adequate care to all in need, (2) lack of a system for adequate follow-through by institutional staff on the treatment prescribed, (3) disciplinary or administrative practices that are harmful to juveniles, and (4) requests to use therapeutic methods inappropriately. Thus, a basic ethical dilemma confronting health care providers is whether the custodial needs or treatment needs take precedence. However, health care professionals have the same duty to incarcerated juveniles as any other employee. They must ensure that juveniles are not harmed by their incarceration and that conditions of incarceration are 'minimally adequate.' Health care professionals enjoy special trust and confidence. They should not hesitate to critically review corrections practices and program rationales in the light of medical and psychiatric expertise. Standards alone do not provide adequate guidance. Ethics committees and professional hotlines could provide support for health care providers. 280 footnotes.