Date: August 19, 2005
Contact: Pam Willenz
APA Public Affairs Office
(202) 336-5707 (until 8/17)
(202) 962-4204 (between 8/18-8/21)

MENTAL HEALTH OF U.S. CORRECTIONAL INMATES

Serious Treatment Availability Problems Exist; Undersecretary of Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu, MD Will Give Statement

WASHINGTON — What is the mental health of inmates in local jails, state and federal correctional facilities? Do many inmates suffer from a mental disorder and are they getting the treatment they need? According to a symposium of psychological and public health experts presenting at the 113th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA), a lack of mental health diagnosis and treatment does exist in many U.S. correctional facilities for those inmates who have a mental illness. Furthermore, the experts say, more attention needs to be directed toward the aging inmates, inmates living with AIDS and other physical disabilities along with other diverse populations that may be at risk for developing health problems.

The presentations include:

Kenneth Moritsugu, MD, Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Public Health Service – Opening Statement

Allan Noonan, MD, MPH, RADM (ret), United States Public Health Service, Director, Public Health Program, Morgan State University – Chair

Roberto Hugh Potter, PhD, Office of Health Disparities, Corrections and Substance Abuse, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention – “How Did the Jail Become the Community Mental Health Center?”

John Baxter, PhD, Chief Psychologist, Federal Bureau of Prisons, “Management and Treatment of the Mentally Ill within the Correctional Environment: Implications, Barriers, and Issues”

Joel Dvoskin, PhD, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Arizona College of Medicine and Former Acting Commissioner of Mental Health for the State of New York, “Correctional Psychology: If Not Here Where? If Not Who? If Not When?”

Dennis Waite, PhD, Former Chief Psychologist, Behavioral Services Unit, Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice – “Mental Health Needs of Incarcerated Juveniles – A Racial Comparison”

Angela Browne, PhD, Associate Director, Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center, Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University – “What’s Driving this Motor? Mental Healthcare Issues with Incarcerated Women and Girls”

Corinne Ortega, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice – “Latinos in the Criminal Justice System: Towards Culturally Competent Correctional Psychology”

Rebecca S. Allen, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa and Laura Phillips, MA, Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa – “Care Alternatives in Prison Systems: Older Prisoners”

Jeffrey D. Strain, MA, Indiana University, “Identifying and Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Clients in Correctional Facilities”

Presentation: “Mental Health and U.S. Correctional Institutions – Issues, Challenges, and Solutions” Session 2123, 10:00 – 11:50 AM, Friday, August 19, Washington Convention Center, Level 2, Meeting Room 204B

Presentation: “Mental Health and U.S. Correctional Institutions: Addressing the Needs of Diverse Populations” Session 2171, 12:00 – 1:50 pm, Friday, August 19, Washington Convention Center, Level 2, Meeting Room 204B

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 150,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 53 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting human welfare.

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