As King County strives for “zero youth detention,” UW System experts keep children’s health at the forefront.
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Health & Medicine | Population Health | Public Health | UW News Blog
September 22, 2022
Professionals in the UW Health Care System have established “nurse navigation” positions to help children in the criminal justice system get health care.Josue Trejo/Pikbay
As King County strives to achieve its goal of “zero youth detention” and ultimately eliminate the practice of juvenile detention in the county, researchers at the University of Washington are investigating how young people can benefit from health care. We are working to address the big systemic challenge of how to engage with
With strategic plans to close juvenile halls by 2025, King County needs an increasingly robust system to ensure that young people receive consistent and accessible services, such as health care. This is especially true when released from juvenile detention, researchers say.
“For many young people involved in the criminal justice system, their first experience with health care as an adolescent is in an environment of confinement and trauma,” says Sarah, professor of child, family and group health nursing at the UW School of Nursing. Gimbel said. “Therefore, while juvenile detention facilities are not the ideal environment to receive physical and mental health care, they are a great way to meet today’s children, address their needs, and enable them to remain engaged in their health. It is also important to enhance the quality of care services in the community.
As King County develops policies to guide investments, support families, and prevent youth involvement in the legal system, Gimbel said it is important to improve support for youth already in detention. It is explained that there is
“Think about the resources and money we put into confining our children, yet very little goes into the backend to help them get back into the community,” Gimbel said. “We’ve worked in juvenile halls for over a year with some really great frontline medical workers, and they’re really excited about what it’s going to be like in a system that’s scheduled to shut down.” I’m struggling without a concrete plan of what it’s going to be.”
Jimbel has co-led a team of experts at the University of Washington on an implementation science project to build a system for managing the health care of young people in detention. In addition to Harborview Her Medical Center, the team, which includes advisors and experts from local organization CHOOSE180 and Community Her Passageways, is working to improve the quality of care at the King County Child and Family Justice Center clinic and address health needs. We are improving our response and tracking to. of young people.
Sean Goode, Executive Director of CHOOSE180, said: “The data show that the majority of children living in incarceration come from areas furthest from economic, health and educational justice. , they will be imprisoned, they will live in these institutions, and perhaps for the first or second time in their lives they will be questioned about their health and well-being.”
The UW team’s system-building efforts have received funding from various states and foundations, but this spring Gimbel pitched at the UW School of Nursing’s “Dawg Tank” grant competition. She won the $15,000 award for her plan to strengthen the systems approach by creating nurse navigation positions to help young people manage their health care outside of the Justice Center’s clinic. Nurses work closely with CHOOSE180.
Addy Borges, a UW graduate student working on a systems project, said: “When young people are involved in the criminal justice system, navigating health care becomes particularly difficult, as many other competing priorities and stressors typically face them and their families. There is a possibility.”
The idea to try out the Nurse Navigation project came from conversations with community members and service providers about the impact of detention and how to make health care accessible to young people and families who have been marginalized by the current system. Was born.
“Our hope is that this Nurse Navigation Pilot will be part of the movement towards a detention-free, community-based system,” said Borges. “This is an evolving concept led by community organizations with deep experience in the field.”
Goode adds that these young people face a range of challenges. For example, when leaving the camp, the care he may have introduced in the first place also includes getting out of the plan.
“And for the young people who are incarcerated within these institutions, we need to figure out ways to ensure they receive care when they return to the community,” Goode said. “Here’s where the nurse navigation conversation comes in. An opportunity to imagine a world where young people have immediate access to continual care that allows them to continue their journey to health and wholeness.”
The UW group found that inefficiencies in health services in juvenile detention centers were exacerbated by communication and coordination barriers, and missed opportunities to address the individual health needs of young people. The group aims to break down walls between siled services in order to improve communication and enable providers to work synergistically.
“My work is at the intersection of nursing (and healthcare in general) and systems engineering,” says Gimbel. “I am focused on helping frontline health workers do their jobs better with whatever resources they have. Addressing the needs of young people has the potential not only to improve their well-being, but also to prevent recidivism and support King County’s goals of zero youth detention.”
“We are convinced that young people are much less likely to do harm when they are engaged in their healing journey,” said Goode. People have the chance to thrive, live and love. ”
For more information, please contact Sarah Gimbel (sgimbel@uw.edu).
Tags: Addy Borges • Population Health • Sarah Gimbel • School of Nursing
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