Family Justice hosted a roundtable yesterday about the intersection of health care and involvement in the justice system. Les Hayden, director of program development and quality management at the Women's Prison Association, and Tracy Pugh (right), a policy associate at the New York Academy of Medicine, joined Lily Brent of our training and technical assistance department for an important discussion.

Les made the point that these issues and systems can be at odds with one another and that it is critical to help people "decrease those conflicts." All three speakers addressed the need for better coordination of services, localized release planning from jail and prison, and the role of families and social networks.

In discussing her organization’s Prison Health Reentry Initiative (supported by the Langeloth Foundation), Tracy stressed the need to shorten the time people often wait for Medicaid coverage to become effective after they return to the community. She also spoke about the importance of interactions early in the process when people seek medical care—including phone calls, talking with a receptionist, and time spent in a waiting room—even before any contact with a clinician.

The roundtable was cosponsored by NYU’s Students for Criminal Justice Reform at the Wagner School.

Read more here about Family Justice's initiative for health care providers.

Family Justice has kicked off the second segment of our partnership with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). This phase is designed to apply the learning from the pilot effort at O.H. Close statewide. To get started, Margaret diZerega and I recently had the privilege of visiting three DJJ facilities. This "northern tour" included visits to the Preston Youth Correctional Facility in Ione, the N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility in Stockton, and the Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp.

Pine Grove, a reentry facility that accepts youth toward the end of their placement with DJJ, is an innovative model. While at Pine Grove, young people are trained in wildland firefighting operations by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as CAL FIRE. They are also given opportunities to obtain their GED or high school diploma. We were impressed with the staff's commitment to maintaining or creating connections between the youth and their families. Staff also go "the extra mile" to ensure that young people are closely connected to the community—whether through service such as fighting fires, clearing brush, and helping with community holiday decorations, or through engagement such as college visits, trips to the DMV, or participating in recreation basketball leagues.

Unique to Pine Grove are its "guest chef nights" when one youth's family will come to the camp to cook a special meal. Through this event, families feel welcome, while youth and staff get to learn about the stories or cultures of the group. Pine Grove staff exemplify the family-focused approach that DJJ is working hard to incorporate through its reform efforts. We look forward to learning more about California's efforts during our next trip to the southern region of the state at the end of July.

The New York Times' Erik Eckholm describes the impact of mass incarceration on families, particularly children, in this important article. The story does a good job of showing not only the challenges family members face—especially black children living in poverty—but of the resilience of a family in Maryland whose members were separated by a lengthy incarceration.

On Wednesday morning, July 8, Family Justice will host a roundtable on health care and involvement in the justice system. Family Justice staff will talk about their work creating a guide for health care providers that addresses questions such as "How can you help patients keep their appointments?" and "How can family members help a loved one stick to a treatment plan?" Les Hayden of the Women's Prison Association and Tracy Pugh of the New York Academy of Medicine will discuss the pressing issues of how incarceration can affect health and how to improve health care in our communities. The roundtable will take place from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at our offices.