Mental Health Care Among Juvenile and Adult Correctional Populations

by Melissa Green  |   

A panel of officials from the Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) discussed how Alaska tackles the job of providing mental health care to juvenile and adult correctional populations. Nationally, more than half of prison and jail inmates have mental health problems, and probation/parole departments provide essential mental health services to their clients. The free public event was held on April 6, 2017, at the UAA/APU Consortium Library on the campus of University of Alaska Anchorage and was sponsored by the UAA Justice Center and UAA Justice Club. Learn more about the event at the UAA Justice Center blog.

Panelists

  • Heidi Redick, Chief Probation Officer, Division of Juvenile Justice
  • Shannon Cross-Azbill, Clinical Director, Division of Juvenile Justice
  • Laura Brooks, Director of Health and Rehabilitation Services, Department of Corrections
  • Adam Rutherford, Chief Mental Health Officer, Department of Corrections

 

Event panelists
Event panelists (from left to right): Shannon Cross-Azbill, DJJ Clinical Director; Heidi Redick, DJJ Chief Probation Officer; Laura Brooks, DOC Director of Health and Rehabilitation Services; and Adam Rutherford, DOC Chief Mental Health Officer