(2) The number of inmates held in Federal, 
State, and private correctional facilities rose 37 per-
cent between midyear 1995 and 2006. 
(3) The offender population in jails turns over 
between 20 and 25 times each year. 
(4) At least 95 percent of those currently incar-
cerated will be released from custody. 
(5) Offender populations enter correctional fa-
cilities with a higher rate of infection of chronic and 
communicable diseases, including asthma, diabetes, 
hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis, than is 
present in the general population. 
(6) The prevalence of mental illness in correc-
tional facilities is rising. Estimates are that 21 per-
cent of jail inmates in 2004 had a recent history of 
a mental health problem, while 60 percent reported 
symptoms that meet the criteria for mania. In State 
prison facilities, 24 percent reported a mental health 
problem, and 43 percent reported symptoms of 
mania. 
(7) At the end of 2004, the prevalence of AIDS 
among inmates was 3.3 times higher than among 
the general population. 
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(8) An estimated 98,500 to 145,500 HIV-posi-
tive inmates were released from prisons and jails in 
1996. 
(9) According to estimates, between 12 and 15 
percent of all individuals in the United States with 
chronic or current hepatitis B infection in 1996 
spent time in a correctional facility that year. 
(10) In the United States, about 30 percent of 
the total population with hepatitis C virus are 
former prisoners or have a history of incarceration. 
The prevalence of hepatitis C among inmates is be-
tween 9 and 10 times higher than the estimated 
hepatitis C prevalence in the Nation’s population as 
a whole. 
(11) In 1996, an estimated 35 percent of all 
those in America who had tuberculosis had served 
time in a correctional facility. 
(12) Substance abuse is a major characteristic 
of incoming prisoners. In 1997, more than 80 per-
cent of State inmates, and more than 70 percent of 
Federal inmates, reported past drug use, and 51 
percent reported the use of alcohol or drugs while 
committing their offense. 
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SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF CORRECTIONAL 
PUBLIC HEALTH. 
Title XVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300u et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following section: 
‘‘OFFICE OF CORRECTIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH 
‘‘SEC. 1711. (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established 
within the Office of Public Health and Science an office 
to be known as the Office of Correctional Public Health 
(in this section referred to as the ‘Office’), which shall be 
headed by a director appointed by the Secretary. The Sec-
retary shall carry out this section acting through the Di-
rector of the Office. 
‘‘(b) GENERAL DUTIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 
out public health activities (referred to in this sec-
tion as ‘correctional health activities’) regarding in-
dividuals (referred to in this section as ‘correctional 
populations’) who are employed in the field of cor-
rections as employees in Federal, State, or local 
penal or correctional institutions; are incarcerated in 
such institutions; are employed as parole or proba-
tion officers; or are under parole or probation super-
vision. Correctional health activities that may be car-
ried out under the preceding sentence include activi-
ties regarding disease prevention, health promotion, 
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service delivery, research, and health professions 
education. 
‘‘(2) CERTAIN TYPES OF INSTITUTIONS.—The 
types of penal or correctional institutions with re-
spect to which this section is authorized to be car-
ried out include facilities in which individuals are 
held pending judicial proceedings (including individ-
uals who are minors), facilities in which individuals 
are held pending administrative proceedings of the 
Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to citi-
zenship and immigration services, and facilities in 
which individuals who are minors are held pursuant 
to judicial proceedings in which such individuals are 
found, as minors, to have engaged in violations of 
law. 
‘‘(c) CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out correc-
tional health activities under subsection (b), the Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(1) coordinate all correctional health programs 
within the Department of Health and Human Serv-
ices; 
‘‘(2) provide technical support to State and 
local correctional agencies on correctional health 
issues; 
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‘‘(3) cooperate with other Federal agencies car-
rying out correctional health programs to ensure co-
ordination of such programs; 
‘‘(4) consult with, and provide outreach to, 
State directors of correctional health and providers 
of correctional health care; 
‘‘(5) facilitate the exchange of information re-
garding correctional health activities; and 
‘‘(6) facilitate collaboration between correctional 
agencies and State and local health departments. 
‘‘(d) GRANTS REGARDING HEPATITIS AND OTHER 
INFECTIOUS DISEASES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Director of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, may make grants to States 
for the purpose of providing for correctional popu-
lations screenings, immunizations, and treatment for 
hepatitis A, B, and C and other infectious diseases. 
‘‘(2) DISCRETION
OF
GRANTEE
REGARDING 
SCOPE
OF
PROGRAM.—A State receiving a grant 
under paragraph (1) may expend the grant for any 
or all of the activities authorized in such paragraph. 
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT OF MATCHING FUNDS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the 
costs of the program to be carried out under 
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