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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Criminal justice system

Domestic Violence Cases in Rural Pennsylvania Magisterial Courts: Practices, Effectiveness and Consequences
Results of a survey of judges in rural Pennsylvania courts as to the effectiveness of domestic violence case prosecution, with a focus on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Includes a discussion of reform history on both a national and state level, barriers to prosecution specific to rural communities, and statistics of types of charges filed versus convictions or dismissals.
Author(s): Gabriela Wasileski, Erika Davis-Frenzel
Date: 09/2016
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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The Opioid Epidemic: Rural Organizations Fight Back
Highlights programs across the country, such as the ANGEL Program, the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PARRI) and the Second Chance Drug Initiative, in which police departments and treatment facilities work together to fight addiction and move drug users toward treatment rather than incarceration. Also discusses the use and availability of naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug.
Author(s): Zachary Toliver
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 06/2016
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Violent Victimization and Substance Dependency: Comparing Rural Incarcerated Heterosexual and Sexual Minority Women
Reports findings from a study of rural Appalachian women prisoners that looked at sexual identity and violent victimization experiences as they relate to alcohol and drug use.
Author(s): Melanie D. Otis, Carrie B. Oser, Michele Staton-Tindall
Citation: Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 16(1-2), 176-201
Date: 2016
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Drug Use, Hepatitis C, and Service Availability: Perspectives of Incarcerated Rural Women
Examines drug use and the health consequences of drug use, hepatitis C, and health service availability among a high-risk sample of women serving time in jail for drug use. Data was collected from a sample of 22 female offenders incarcerated in 3 jail facilities located in rural Appalachia.
Author(s): Michele Staton-Tindall, J. Matthew Webster, Carrie B. Oser, Jennifer R. Havens, Carl G. Leukefeld
Citation: Social Work in Public Health, 30(4) 385–396
Date: 07/2015
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Attorney General's Advisory Committee on American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence: Ending Violence So Children Can Thrive
Reports on the current epidemic of American Indian and Alaskan Native children's exposure to violence, and offers policy recommendations to the Attorney General on ways to address the issues.
Date: 11/2014
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Justice
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'We Desperately Need Some Help Here' - The Experience of Legal Experts with Sexual Assault and Evidence Collection in Rural Communities
Provides context to promote understanding of the rural medico-legal response to sexual assault, and to inform sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) in rural areas. Describes the importance of the SANE role when responding to sexual assault and discusses possible solutions, such as telemedicine, to address the need for more properly trained SANEs in rural communities. Experts interviewed were from rural areas in Virginia.
Author(s): Sandra Annan
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 14(4), 2659
Date: 10/2014
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A Roadmap to Making Native America Safer
A report to the President and Congress detailing the challenges of jurisdiction, law enforcement, and prosecution for tribal governments. Includes a discussion of the need for intergovernmental cooperation, alternative detention options, and to address juvenile justice concerns.
Date: 11/2013
Sponsoring organization: Indian Law and Order Commission
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Mental Health Services in Rural Jails
Explores the role of jails within rural mental health systems, investigating how rural jails manage mental health and substance abuse problems among inmates. Also identifies barriers to providing mental health services in rural jails and shares promising practices for improving service delivery. Study focuses on rural, county-based jails in Minnesota, Montana, Texas, and Vermont.
Additional links: Policy Brief, September 2009
Author(s): Melanie M. Race, Anush Yousefian, David Lambert, David Hartley
Date: 08/2010
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Perspectives on Civil Protective Orders in Domestic Violence Cases: The Rural and Urban Divide
Discusses the barriers to getting restraining orders for rural and urban domestic violence victims.
Author(s): Nikki Hawkins
Citation: NIJ Journal, 266
Date: 05/2010
Sponsoring organization: National Institute of Justice
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Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4)
Report to Congress regarding the rate of child abuse and neglect nationwide. Includes data and statistics of distribution of abuse and neglect by demographics, income and education level, perpetrator characteristics, and geographic location. Also includes resources to recognize and find treatment for victims.
Author(s): Andrea J. Sedlak, Jane Mettenburg, Monica Basena, et al.
Date: 2010
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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