In the weeks before they leave the juvenile detention center, incarcerated children in Connecticut meet with counselors from the Wheeler Clinic, a nonprofit that works with high-risk youth as they transition back into their community. They talk about social connections, they talk about family support. They also talk about vaccinations.
“If their immunizations aren’t up to date, they can’t go back to school,” says Kim Nelson, senior vice president for services at the Wheeler Clinic. That’s a big reason the transition includes a medical plan, she says. Counselors know that incarceration puts young people at risk for bad health outcomes down the line, and they hope a relationship with a doctor can ease that chance.
“We want to keep the kids healthy,” says Nelson.
[For more on this story by Nicole Wetsman, go to https://jjie.org/2018/07/30/to...-juvenile-detention/]
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