Improving Health Equity for Women Involved in the Criminal Legal System

Abstract

More than 1,000,000 women in the United States are currently under supervision of the criminal legal system (CLS), with the majority on probation or parole. 1 Since 1980, the number of women in prison has increased by more than 800%, which is twice the rate of growth for men, whose rates are falling (Bronson & Carson, 2019). Similarly, the male jail population decreased by 9% from 2008 to 2018, whereas the female jail population experienced a 15% increase (Zeng, 2020). Women involved in the CLS (WICLS) have high rates of mental and physical health conditions, socioeconomic challenges, and trauma and violence histories (Meyer et al., 2014; McDaniels

Carceral and Climate Crises and Health Inequities: A Call for Greater Transparency, Accountability, and Human Rights Protections

“…Seminal works analyze discrimination and the political and sociohistorical antecedents of hyperincarceration, including the Black Codes, as a social determinant of health (Acker et al, 2019;Alexander, 2012;Davis, 2020;Fullilove, 1993;Hinton, 2016;Muhammad, 2010). Hyperincarceration and negative individual and populationlevel public health effects, along with structural violence at its core, have been well documented (Golembeski & Fullilove, 2008;Golembeski et al, 2020b;Gottschalk, 2015;Patterson, 2013;Venters, 2019;Wacquant, 2009). Paradoxically, there is evidence that some jails or prisons may provide quality care and healing, which underscores the withering health and social safety nets in lesser-resourced communities (Massoglia & Remster, 2019;Sufrin, 2017).…”

“…People involved with the criminal legal system disproportionately face significant health challenges during periods of time before, during, and after incarceration (Acker et al, 2019;Cloud, Bassett, Graves, Fullilove, & Brinkley-Rubinstein, 2020;Wildeman & Wang, 2017). Substandard health care within jails and prisons, unhealthy environmental factors, and the health impacts of carceral systems have been well documented (Golembeski et al, 2020b;Massoglia & Remster, 2019;Venters, 2019). A high prevalence of comorbid chronic medical and mental health conditions exists among incarcerated individuals, who are often from underserved communities (Binswanger, Redmond, Steiner, and Hicks, 2012).…”

“…Moreover, Massoglia found individuals with a history of incarceration are consistently more likely to develop illnesses associated with stress (Massoglia, 2008). Understanding and addressing the health challenges of people involved in the criminal legal system is critical to achieving the triple aim of improving patient experience of care and population health while limiting costs (Binswanger, Maruschak, Mueller, Stern, & Kinner, 2019;Golembeski et al, 2020b;Mery, Majumder, Brown, & Dobrow, 2017). Ultimately, Venters and colleagues conceptualize the triple aim of correctional health as patient safety, population health, and human rights (MacDonald et al, 2013).…”

“…The 2008 Second Chance Act and the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act preceded the First Step Act of 2018, which has already led to federal prison population reductions. Fifteen Many policymakers, researchers, and politicians support alternatives to incarceration, drug-policy reform, and decarceration alongside reducing punishment's collateral consequences (Golembeski et al, 2020b;Krieger, 2020;USCCR, 2019).…”

Health and Health Service Needs: Comparison of Older and Younger Women with Criminal−Legal Involvement in Three Cities

“…About 40% of the increase in female rates of incarceration in state prisons between 1993 and 2013 was owing to increases in the incarceration of women over age 55 (Carson & Sabol, 2016). The shifting age and gender demographics of those incarcerated or serving sentences in community corrections have led to concerns about the capacity of carceral and probationary systems safely to accommodate their needs (Aday & Farney, 2014; Golembeski et al, 2020). Our goal in this analysis was to contribute to what is known about the health risks, health conditions, and health services access and use of older adult women (age 50 and older, hereafter 50+) who have a history of criminal–legal system (CLS) involvement.…”