Correctional facilities continue to experience increasing health care demands while resources decrease and costs for services increase. This paper shows changes in health care expenditures over a five-year period, highlighting services vulnerable to fluctuation. Health care costs of a long-term juvenile correctional system housing approximately 525 juveniles were compared between fiscal years 1995 and 2000. Health care expenditure increased 17% over the study period, even with concerted efforts to control spending. This longitudinal comparison suggests that juvenile correctional facilities’ health care budgets are highly vulnerable to large fluctuations due to youths’ unexpected medical costs.
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