Juvenile Offenders Community Health Services (JOCHS) is an initiative to promote the positive role of health care in the lives of children and adolescents who are brought to juvenile detention facilities. Our goal is to connect youth who are brought to detention centers with health care services provided by community health care centers. We encourage partners and policymakers to view detention as an opportunity to rethink health care delivery for all children and youth in their jurisdiction, and to provide care that is age-appropriate and culturally sensitive, and reflects local standards. By bringing community health care providers into juvenile detention centers, JOCHS seeks to build bridges between juveniles and their communities and to establish stable medical homes for juveniles in their communities.

Building on a Pioneering Approach

JOCHS applies a concept similar to that developed for adult jails by its partner organization, Community Oriented Correctional Health Services (COCHS), which fosters partnerships between local jails and community health centers. Alameda County, CA, pioneered a similar, integrated approach to juvenile health and support services that became the inspiration for JOCHS.

Alameda’s experience to date in establishing medical homes for at-risk youth, decreasing out-of-facility transfers for medical reasons, and lowering violence within the Juvenile Justice Center led The California Endowment, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Community Clinics Initiative of Tides to support JOCHS.