The Region : Test Young Inmates for AIDS, Jury Urges

Saying many youngsters in county juvenile halls and similar facilities have histories of prostitution and drug abuse, the Los Angeles County Grand Jury recommended that they be tested for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Such testing is necessary to “protect minors and staff” from the deadly disease, the jury concluded in its final report to the Board of Supervisors. The panel recommends that the AIDS testing be conducted when youngsters are admitted to juvenile halls. It also recommends testing of youngsters in the Probation Department camps to which juveniles are often sentenced as an alternative to California Youth Authority detention centers. “Such testing is necessary given the involvement of many delinquent youth in such high-risk activities as prostitution and drug abuse when they are on the streets,” the panel found. State legislation would be required to implement such testing.