NCJ Number
203633
Date Published
2003
Length
44 pages
Annotation
This report addresses the medical and mental health issues pertinent to the management of elderly and aging inmates in Florida's correctional institutions.
Abstract
The report summarizes recent studies of elderly inmates presented to the governor and the legislature by the Florida Corrections Commission in January 2000, as well as the Florida House of Representatives Criminal Justice and Corrections Council Committee on Corrections in December 1999. The Department of Corrections' responses to both reports are included. Data are presented on the medical and mental health status of elderly inmates and on costs for a variety of community-based medical services for inmates. Profiles are provided for the 10 most recently incarcerated first-time offenders 60 years old or older; the 10 oldest repeat offenders with the most incarcerations; the 10 longest serving inmates; and the 10 eldest inmates. The Florida Correctional Medical Authority presents its survey findings related to age for fiscal years 1998-2000. The report concludes with a proposal to inform policy choices in the management of the State's elderly and aging inmates. The primary concerns identified in the report are the Corrections Department's lack of capacity to collect average cost data by age for key components of its operation, including health services; and the lack of methodologically sound research needed as a basis for managing the aging inmate population in Florida. To address these concerns, the report recommends the implementation of a data collection, retrieval, and analysis system that will ensure reliable age-based data regarding health-care use and costs. It also recommends conducting a methodologically sound research study on the health-related concerns of aging and elderly Florida inmates, accompanied by recommendations to the legislature for current and future management of this inmate population. Extensive data tables