NCJ Number
222760
Date Published
March 2005
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This report provides a glance into the service delivery system in Cincinnati, OH, for former prisoners with mental and medical health problems.
Abstract
Key findings of the report include: (1) among the sample of male prisoners with serious medical or mental health conditions, the majority reported that mental health care in prison was generally available when needed, but they were unsatisfied with the quality and availability of medical and dental care; (2) prisoners reported long waits to see a doctor and high levels of insensitive, uncaring treatment from many of the doctors and nurses in prison; (3) after release, former prisoners stated the lack of information provided to them prior to release about community services was the biggest obstacle to getting the health care and other services needed; (4) former prisoners reported that they often had to rely on family, friends, and sometimes the emergency room of the local hospital to obtain the medication they needed after release; (5) the proposed “Ohio Plan” developed to prepare prisoners for release was praised by community service providers but prisoners’ medical needs required more attention during the release preparation program; (6) service providers felt that former prisoners needed one place to go to obtain comprehensive information about health care and other community services; (7) the lack of available resources for services, limitations local funding agencies placed on grants, and the competition for funding were identified by service providers as significant problems in delivering services to former prisoners; and (8) service providers suggested establishing universal mental health screening for soon-to-be-released prisoners. This report describes the results and implications of research into the unique challenges that confront men with demonstrated mental and physical health problems who are returning home to Cincinnati, OH after serving a State prison term. The data for this report was obtained through the Returning Home Ohio Health Study, part of the Urban Institute’s 3-year, multistate study of prisoner reentry. Figures and tables