inmates

Corrections health experts have been urging prison administrators to plan for coronavirus.

National

Prisons And Jails Worry About Becoming Coronavirus 'Incubators'

4:18pm March 13, 2020

by Martin Kaste

Inmates and guards don't have the option of staying home during a coronavirus outbreak, so detention centers risk becoming "incubators" for the disease. Some are scrambling to mitigate the risk.

Queue Listen Now

New inmates with a mental illness arrive daily in the Los Angeles County jail system. It now holds more than 5,000 inmates with a mental illness who've had run-ins with the law.

America's Mental Health Crisis Hidden Behind Bars

8:10am February 25, 2020

Overcrowding, understaffing and poor treatment for inmates with mental health issues held in Los Angeles jails underscore growing failures in America's mental health and justice systems.

Queue Listen Now

The Joliet Treatment Center, southwest of Chicago, is one of four facilities now providing mental health care to some of Illinois' sickest inmates. It's a start, say mental health advocates, but many more inmates in Illinois and across the U.S. still awai

Most Inmates With Mental Illness Still Wait For Decent Care

2:42pm February 03, 2019

by Christine Herman

Nearly three years after the state of Illinois agreed in a court settlement to revamp mental health care in prisons and provide better treatment, a judge says the care remains "grossly insufficient."

Jason Jones (left) with his roommates Joe Klein and Tamiko Panzella in their Oakland, Calif., apartment. Panzella and Klein are participating in a new program to provide housing to former inmates. Jones was released recently after nearly 14 years in priso

National

From A Cell To A Home: Newly Released Inmates Matched With Welcoming Hosts

12:14pm January 16, 2019

by Eric Westervelt

A novel housing program in California links people who have served long-term prison sentences with those willing to rent space in their homes.

Queue Listen Now

A view inside Rhode Island's John J. Moran Medium Security Prison, in Cranston. Rhode Island is the only state to screen every individual who comes into the correctional system for opioid use disorder, and to offer, in conjunction with with counseling, al

Rhode Island Prisons Push To Get Inmates The Best Treatment For Opioid Addiction

8:19pm November 19, 2018

The state has started to reduce overdose deaths by offering counseling and medication for opioid addiction in prison. Research finds the treatment helps inmates avoid relapse after release.

Queue Listen Now

An average of 13,776 inmates in 45 California counties were on psychotropic medications in 2016-2017, a recent report found. That is up from 10,999 five years ago.

Big Jump Seen In Number Of Inmates Prescribed Psychiatric Drugs In California

4:16pm May 04, 2018

by Anna Gorman

Amid a severe shortage of psychiatric beds and community-based treatment throughout the state and nation, county jails have become repositories for people in the throes of acute mental health crises.

Chef Gilbert Brenot teaches trainees at Edwins about meat preparation. The fine-dining restaurant in Cleveland provides education, housing and steady employment for former inmates and is the subject of an Oscar-nominated documentary.

Oscar-Nominated 'Knife Skills' Showcases Ex-Cons And Odd Ducks In The Kitchen

10:00am March 03, 2018

by Kristen Hartke

The documentary chronicles the opening of Edwins, a fine-dining restaurant in Cleveland that provides education, housing and steady employment for former inmates.

The Arizona Department of Corrections said it would give inmates three times the amount of free sanitary napkins, following a backlash to restrictions. Inmates are still required to purchase tampons.

National

Arizona Department Of Corrections Changes Sanitary Pad Policy Following Backlash

9:26pm February 15, 2018

by Amy Held

The department said it has increased inmates' free allotment of sanitary pads, after protesters launched the #letitflow campaign and sent a lawmaker tampons in the mail.

People walk by a sign at the entrance to Rikers Island on March 31, 2017. New York cITY Mayor Bill de Blasio has said that he agrees with the fundamentals of a plan to close the jail complex within 10 years.

National

Despite Scrutiny, Rikers Island's 'Culture Of Violence' Persists, Report Says

9:59am November 30, 2017

by Jose Olivares

This latest report has fueled the debate on closing the jail facilities on the island.

In this June 18, 2015, photo, a prisoner walks near his crowded living area in Elmore Correctional Facility in Elmore, Ala. Tuesday's ruling comes in a class action lawsuit brought by inmates who argued the conditions violated the U.S. Constitution's ban

Alabama Prisons Ruled 'Horrendously Inadequate,' Must Improve

5:14pm June 27, 2017

by Debbie Elliott

A U.S. District judge issued the ruling Tuesday in a class action lawsuit brought by inmates who argued the prisons' conditions were cruel and unusual punishment.