Juvenile Justice And The Primary Care Pediatrician: Where Do I Fit?

* Abbreviation:\n JIY — : justice-involved youth\n\nI thought the next visit would be a straightforward suture removal. I entered the examination room on a busy morning in a primary care clinic and met Mrs Johnson and her 14-year-old grandson, who had stitches in his right knee. Michael’s laceration was well healed, and I made small talk as I coaxed out the sutures.\n\n“What’d you do to your knee?” I asked. Michael was silent. Mrs Johnson described how Michael had been hanging out with a new crowd and had injured his knee in an auto crash. He and some friends had robbed a stranger and stole a car to get away, but they crashed the car, she explained, and his best friend died in the auto crash. His grandmother was worried about him and had been neglecting her own health to take him to medical and legal appointments.\n\nAs we spoke, I noticed a small red light out of the corner of my eye. Plugged into the wall was an L-shaped black box with a cord that traced to a device looped around Michael’s left ankle. Michael was not only in with a new group of friends, but he was also newly involved with the juvenile justice … \n\nAddress correspondence to Alexandra M. Sims, MD, MPH, FAAP, Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, MLC 7035, Cincinnati, OH 45229. E-mail: alex.sims1{at}gmail.com