Rebuilding Lives. Strengthening Communities.

“This is the best chance to
locate customers. They are in
front of you and they aren’t
going anywhere. You can talk
to them, and you can get them
all the resources they need.
Otherwise, in the community,
they might not find these
resources on their own.”
Dr. Nader Tobia
Medical Director, Stateville Reception and
Classification Center, which processes 2,200
male prisoners monthly for Illinois prisons
Solution
Capacity of correctional health and medical staff must be
expanded to perform thorough assessments, and correctional
facilities must be equipped to do them. There are
opportunities during intake and incarceration to screen,
manage and treat many physical, behavioral and mental
health conditions that signficantly impact the well-being of
prisoners, their families and the community. Because
institutionalized health care may be the only health care
option for many individuals involved in corrections, it is
important to make the most of these opportunities.
IDOC should routinely administer a validated, sciencebased
assessment tool to diagnose various health-related
issues of physically and mentally ill prisoners. This tool
should provide sufficient information to develop a clinical
health plan and treatment program that can follow prisoners
throughout the prison system and be used to continue
services after they are discharged. For example, prisoners
with serious chronic illnesses must receive proper treatment
during incarceration, those with HIV, hypertension or diabetes
must receive regular checkups, and mentally ill prisoners
must receive treatment that prepares them to function
in the community after release. 17
Similar to the medical community outside prison, the health
staff at correctional institutions should serve their prisoner
patients within a uniform standard of care. Sufficient guidelines
and oversight should exist to guarantee that prisoners
do not receive substandard medical care, but rather a standard
of care that ensures individuals leave prison physically
and mentally healthier than when they arrived. NCCHC’s
Standards for Health Services offer a guide which Illinois
can use to create model standards. Designed by independent
experts from the fields of health, law and corrections,
the NCCHC standards provide comprehensive guidelines
for improving the health of prisoners. 18
A number of states are experimenting with innovative ways
to provide oversight and accountability for prison health
systems. The Governor of Texas has appointed a committee
comprised of physicians, university representatives and correctional
facility administrators to provide independent
oversight of the prison health care system according to
quality standards. 19 Oregon is attempting to keep prison
health care consistent with community standards by requiring
prisons to provide quality services similar to health care
available to the insured poor in the community. 20
MAYORAL POLICY CAUCUS ON PRISONER REENTRY
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