Learning Objectives for this Presentation:
By the end of the presentation participants will be able to better understand the nature of the relationship between juvenile justice residential facilities (JJRFs) and county public health agencies and how these relationships can be improved.


Background:
Young people housed in locally run JJRFs are often eligible to receive health services through local health agencies. Immunizations tend to fall under this service umbrella. However, initial results garnered during pre-testing modifications for the 2006 Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC) revealed that JJRFs have little in the way of a systematic relationship with local public health agencies, and even less of a relationship with state-level agencies.

Setting:
County public health agencies within the ten states where the JRFC was pre-tested.

Population:
All public health agencies in the10 pretest states.

Project Description:
Telephone interviews were conducted using a structured interview protocol of 26 questions to better understand the relationship between JJRFs and county public health agencies. One investigator conducted all interviews, which increased reliability of the data. Descriptive statistics of the data are provided.

Results/Lessons Learned:
This study reports qualitative data collected from JJRFs in10 states along with the results of a purposively sampled survey of local public health agencies. It examines JJRF understandings of their relationship with public health agencies and public health agencies' perspectives on immunization provision to children residing in JJRFs. Highlighted is the misinformation that inhibits immunization rates among JJRF residents and the under-used federal Vaccination for Children Program