NCJ Number
143654
Journal
American Jails Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (March-April 1993) Pages: 40-46
Date Published
1993
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This discussion of AIDS policies in jails focuses on litigation in general, standards relating to jails and AIDS, special legal issues relating to AIDS and jails, and the right of privacy for inmates who are HIV-positive.
Abstract
For the purposes of this article, a jail is defined as a "short-term holding facility, usually locally run and supervised." Although few lawsuits regarding the rights of inmates with AIDS have been successful for the inmate, various organizations have adopted standards for the management of HIV-positive or AIDS inmates. Special legal issues relating to AIDS and jails pertain to staff and employment issues, AIDS testing, inmate segregation, and medical treatment. Regarding HIV-positive jail staff, they should be allowed to continue in their jobs as long as their health permits. Consideration should be given to not exposing them to inmates with opportunistic diseases to which HIV-positive individuals may be susceptible. Regarding AIDS testing, the short-term nature of jail populations currently makes testing an unattractive option for most jails. Although testing has been advocated as the basis for segregating HIV-positive and AIDS inmates, such segregation is falling into disfavor with many jail administrators, since relatively healthy HIV-positive inmates pose little or no danger to staff and the general jail population. Regarding medical treatment for HIV-positive inmates, there is no absolute right to particular medical treatment, but treatment must be adequate and should follow accepted medical guidelines for treatment. Jail administrators should do testing for tuberculosis and immediately isolate any inmate reasonably suspected of having TB. The courts have made clear that an individual identified as HIV-positive has a strong right to privacy as to this information. The information should be disseminated only to those with an absolute need to know. 45 footnotes