Health & justice: health care for people involved in the justice system

The issue of health and justice is especially pressing because people involved in the justice system are one of the most medically vulnerable groups in this country. They are often at-risk youth, children and adults with a history of physical and sexual abuse, low-income men of color, and people with high rates of chronic and communicable disease who may also be struggling with mental illness and substance abuse. Health funders have found that focusing on people entering, in, or emerging from the criminal and juvenile justice systems increases the likelihood of connecting with vulnerable populations that are hard to pull into traditional health interventions. Successful initiatives targeting these groups improve health, reduce recidivism, and transform systems by building cross-sectoral partnerships among health, justice, mental health, and substance abuse systems, which may require policy change at the local, state, and federal levels.