Oakland Tribune (03.07.07) - Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Roman Gokhman

Providing inmates with HIV education and condoms while they are in custody may help slow the spread of the disease once they are released. "Ninety-five percent of inmates come back into our community," Lee said at a recent press conference. "People need to understand that when a prisoner is infected, we all are affected."

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, around 25 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States pass through correctional facilities each year.

If approved, HR 178 would apply to federal, state, and county correctional facilities, said a staffer in Lee's office. Prisons would be required to distribute "sexual barrier protection devices." Officials would be required to regularly survey state and county facilities to determine which groups were most affected and come up with STD prevention strategies.

At Dublin's Santa Rita jail, the sixth-largest county jail in the country, officials are trying to stay ahead of the HIV curve. The jail provides inmates with HIV testing, counseling, and treatment, said Alameda County Sheriff's Capt. Bert Wilkinson, who runs the jail. Under California law, it is illegal to distribute condoms to inmates.

"We have strong ties to the community and referrals to treatment programs outside the jail," said Wilkinson. "What we're most concerned with is that when someone leaves our custody, there is a continuing. treatment that they are receiving. We will go so far as to make appointments for them before they leave [the jail]."
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