The Graying Of U.S. Prison Populations

The theme of this month’s newsletter is familiar to many provider organizations around the country – the chances that consumers with complex support needs that include behavioral health will be involved with the justice system are extremely high. Both their health care needs, and their involvement with the corrections system mean this is a high-cost, high-touch population for both health care and criminal justice.

But here is another sub-population that escapes the attention of many provider organization executives – the increase in the number of older inmates.

As of 2011, there were 246,600 state and federal prison . . .