Justice and Health Connect: Sharing Data to Address Health Disparities in the Criminal Justice System

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Justice and Health Connect Sharing Data to
Address Health Disparities in the Criminal
Justice System

• David H. Cloud
• Substance Use and Mental Health Program
• Vera Institute of Justice
• dcloud_at_vera.org

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The Vera Institute of Justice

• www.vera.org
• Substance Use and Mental Health Program
• Jail diversion and reentry, Rockefeller drug law
  reforms, indigent defense for people with MHN,
  competency restoration reform, health reform and
  the CJ system, social impact bonds
• Justice and Health Connect
• www.jhconnect.org

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Why should health and justice agencies share
information?

• Make use of untapped data resources
• Reduce health disparities in the criminal justice
  system
• Reduce costs and improve efficiency
• Increase access to treatment
• Reduce crime
• Improve identification of health needs in jails
  and prisons
• Bolster diversion and reentry
• Evidence-based practices
• Capitalize on health reform/curb correctional
  healthcare costs

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The Policy EnvironmentHealth Reform

• The Affordable Care Act A) ACA Objectives that
  impact criminal justice populations?
• Medicaid expansions
• Outreach to enroll vulnerable/high cost
  populations into health plans
• Expand, integrate, and coordinate comprehensive
  services
• HIT
• B) What are opportunities for health-justice
  information sharing?
• Targeted enrollment into Medicaid
• Linkage to ACA supported health services (e.g.
  health homes)

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Policy ClimateJustice Reform
Justice Reform Factors
Dept. of Justice Information Sharing initiatives (e.g. Global Information Sharing Initiative)
Overcrowding/growing correctional healthcare costs
Investment in treatment alternatives to incarceration Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Act (Bipartisan support)
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The challenges of justice and health data sharing

• Privacy Law
• What can we do?
• Ethics
• What should we do?
• Cultural Clash
• How do we work together?
• 4. Technology
• How do we do it?

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Introducing Justice and Health Connect
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Justice and Health Connectwww.jhconnect.org

• Evolution of JH Connect D.C. Forensic
  Project working with large datasets.
• Aim to increase the ability of government
  agencies and community organizations to share
  information across health and justice systems.
• Features Toolkit, myth-busters, resource
  library, fact sheets, templates, pod-casts, links
  galore.
• Audience Practitioners in criminal justice and
  public health

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Toolkitwww.jhconnect.org
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Resource Librarywww.jhconnect.org
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Busting Mythswww.jhconnect.org
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Breaking down Privacy Laws
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Ethical Dilemmas of Information Sharing
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Templates Information Sharing Agreements
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Templates Multi-Party Consent Forms
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TechnologyIdentifying Data Systems
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Spectrum of Technological Solutions

• Secure email exchanges
• Electronic health records (EHRs)
• Cloud computing and web-based solutions
• Health Information Exchanges

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Questions and Feedback

• Thank you!!
• Please reach out!
• www.jhconnect.org
• David H. Cloud, Substance Use and Mental Health
  Program
• dcloud_at_vera.org