NCJ Number
242871
Date Published
March 2013
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This report provides examples of how States have addressed the problem of dealing with aging and medically infirm prisoners.
Abstract
This report by the Office of Legislative Research of the Connecticut General Assembly provides examples of how other States have addressed the problem of dealing with aging and medically infirm prisoners. The report provides examples from California, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington State. California contracts with private providers to establish and operate skilled nursing facilities to incarcerate and care for aging and ill prisoners. The State of Florida operates several facilities specifically designed for elderly as well as palliative care inmates. Louisiana has established a partnership between Louisiana State Penitentiary and University Hospital Community Hospice in New Orleans to provide care for sick and infirm inmates. The State of Nevada has established the Senior Structured Living Program to serve aging offenders, while New York's Unit for the Cognitively Impaired primarily serves prisoners with dementia. In Pennsylvania, sick and elderly inmates are housed at Laurel Highlands, a minimum security facility. In the State of Virginia, most older prisoners are housed at the Deerfield Correctional Center, a one-story, handicap-accessible facility able to address inmates' mobility needs. In Washington State, an assisted-living unit was established at the Coyote Ridge Correctional facility to address the needs of the State's elderly inmates. A list of Web sites is cited in the report.