Dementia and the Aging Prison Population: Best Practices for Care and Release

The number of incarcerated seniors has tripled in the last 20 years, and that number is only expected to grow. By 2030, U.S. prisons will incarcerate 400,000 seniors – 1/3 of the total prison population. Estimates vary but more than half of incarcerated seniors may develop dementia by that point. This policy brief by Megan Moore and Angie Weis Gammell makes recommendations on best practices for care and screening of incarcerated people with dementia as well as for their medical release.