Assessment of US Federal Funding of Incarceration-Related Research, 1985 to 2022

Abstract

ImportanceThe US leads the world in the raw number of incarcerated persons as well as the rate of incarceration, with detrimental effects on individual-, family-, community-, and population-level health; as such, federal research has a critical role in documenting and addressing the health-related impacts of the US criminal legal system. How often incarceration-related research is funded at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), and US Department of Justice (DOJ) levels has a direct association with the public attention given to mass incarceration as well as the efficacy of strategies to mitigate negative effects and poor health related to incarceration.ObjectiveTo understand how many incarceration-related projects have been funded at the NIH, NSF, and DOJ.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cross-sectional study used public historical project archives to search for relevant incarceration-related keywords (eg, incarceration, prison, parole) since January 1, 1985 (NIH and NSF), and since January 1, 2008 (DOJ). Quotations and Boolean operator logic were used. All searches and counts were conducted and double verified by 2 coauthors between December 12 and 17, 2022.Main Outcomes and MeasuresNumber and prevalence of funded projects related to incarceration and prison keywords.ResultsThe term incarceration resulted in 3540 of 3 234 159 total project awards (0.11%) and prisoner-related terms resulted in 11 455 total project awards (0.35%) across the 3 federal agencies since 1985. Nearly a tenth of all projects funded at NIH since 1985 related to education (256 584 [9.62%]) compared with only 3373 projects (0.13%) that related to criminal legal or criminal justice or correctional system and 18 projects (0.0007%) that related to incarcerated parents. Only 1857 (0.07%) of all NIH-funded projects have been funded related to racism since 1985.Conclusions and RelevanceThis cross-sectional study found that a very low number of projects about incarceration have historically been funded at the NIH, DOJ, and NSF. These findings reflect a dearth of federally funded studies investigating the effects of mass incarceration or intervention strategies to mitigate adverse effects. Given the consequences of the criminal legal system, it is undoubtedly time for researchers, and our nation, to invest more resources into studying whether this system should be maintained, the intergenerational effects of mass incarceration, and strategies to best mitigate its impact on public health.

“Devastating…Having My Child on the Opposite Side of a Window”: Family Visiting Experiences and Considerations for Supporting Youths with Incarcerated Parents

“…While the establishment of pediatric care guidelines were recently created for the care of children of incarcerated parents (Martoma et al, 2022), few evidence based practices exist primarily due to a lack of program evaluation on families affected by parental incarceration. This may be due to inadequate scientific investigation as only 24 studies have ever been funded at the National Institute of Health that relate to children of incarcerated parents since 1985 (Boch et al, 2023). In this study, caregivers disclosed confusion and difficulty retrieving appropriate medical and educational consents to take children to their doctor's appointments and school.…”

Medicaid Reentry Section 1115 Demonstration Opportunity

“…Only 0.12% of National Institutes of Health-funded projects and 0.03% of National Science Foundation-funded projects sponsored after 1985 have been related to incarceration. 9 Moves to include incarcerated individuals in Medicaid coverage were driven by promising studies that demonstrate that access to and receipt of health care can bolster the transition away from traditional policing and punishment-first frameworks. 10 It is critical to further devote resources in health care toward research with justiceinvolved individuals.…”

“…There remains a gap in research and data collection on mental health services within US jails and prisons. Only 0.12% of National Institutes of Health–funded projects and 0.03% of National Science Foundation–funded projects sponsored after 1985 have been related to incarceration . Moves to include incarcerated individuals in Medicaid coverage were driven by promising studies that demonstrate that access to and receipt of health care can bolster the transition away from traditional policing and punishment-first frameworks .…”