The Returning Home study at the Urban Institute has illuminated many health-related challenges associated with reentry, including a special focus on returning prisoners with serious mental and physical illness in Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as a study on the health care Chicago prisoners receive during prison and the health challenges they face after release. The Urban Institute also convened a Reentry Roundtable on the public health dimensions of prisoner reentry to generate a discussion among experts about the health needs and risks of returning prisoners and their families. In addition, researchers at the Urban Institute explored evidenced-based housing programs that serve persons with mental illness who have had contact with the criminal justice system and identified various programs serving this population across the country.
Recent Findings from the Urban Institute on Health and Reentry
- A substantial number of prisoners have been diagnosed with a physical or mental health condition. Returning Home findings show that between nearly 30 and 40 percent of respondents reported having a chronic physical or mental health condition, with the most commonly reported conditions including depression, asthma, and high blood pressure (see supporting text 1, 2, 3, 4). In New Jersey, about a third of prisoners released in 2002 had been diagnosed with at least one chronic and/or communicable physical or mental health condition.
- More prisoners report being diagnosed with a medical condition than report receiving medication or treatment for the condition while incarcerated. While 30 percent of Illinois Returning Home respondents reported having a physical or mental health condition, only 12 percent reported having taken medication on a regular basis while in prison. In a small study of prisoners in Ohio, over half reported being diagnosed with depression, but only 38 percent of the sample reported receiving treatment or taking prescription medication for depression. Similarly, 27 percent reported having asthma, yet less than 14 percent reported receiving treatment for asthma.
- Many corrections agencies lack discharge planning and preparation for addressing health care needs upon release, making continuity of care difficult. Less than 10 percent of prisoners in the Illinois Returning Home study reported receiving referrals to health care or mental health care services in the community. In fact, respondents who reported having fair or poor health were no more or less likely to receive referrals to health care care in the community than those reporting to be in good general health. In addition, only 20 percent of respondents in the small study of Ohio prisoners reported programming or assistance to prepare them to address their health care needs upon release.
- Securing health care is a major concern for many released prisoners. At least three-quarters of Returning Home respondents acknowledged they would need help getting health care after release (See supporting text 1, 2, 3, 4).
- The vast majority of returning prisoners do not have any form of medical insurance. Returning Home findings show that four to eight months after release, only 10 to 20 percent of respondents in Maryland and Illinois had private insurance. Sixteen months after release, the percentage of Illinois respondents who had private insurance dropped from almost 20 to 15 percent. In Maryland, only 5 percent of Returning Home respondents reported being recipients of Medicaid or Medicare, a disability pension, or Veterans Administration health insurance.