Continuity of Care

The Girls Health & Justice Institute initiated the Girls and Boys Health Screens as a first step in helping children in detention. We didn’t stop there. We are working with multi-disciplinary staff to integrate the results of the Girls Health Screen into case planning, treatment, pre-release planning, and ongoing and aftercare for girls.

We have innovated programs and services to continue treatment in the community so that teens are diverted from the pipeline running toward incarceration as adults. We know that identifying, treating and following up on medical care reduces recidivism by 72% among young girls, so we have launched two initiatives to provide continuity of care for young girls and boys in and after detention.

The Electronic Girls & Boys Health Passports

The Electronic Girls Health Passport is currently being implemented in Los Angeles and San Joaquin Counties in California, is being considered by five other California jurisdictions and is being considered for use for girls in locked facilities in Georgia, Alabama, and Arizona as well as by tribal nations.

Improving Affordable Health Coverage and Medi-Cal Enrollment for Every Girl and Boy in the Juvenile Justice System

The Girls Health & Justice Institute has collaborated with the Kaiser Family Foundation to evaluate Medicaid and the Juvenile Justice system, and explore strategies for improving health and mental health services for youth who lose or have their medical benefits suspended upon incarceration. We are also developing strategies to ensure that every child leaving locked facilities is linked with a medical home in her or his community.