Pediatric AIDS: adolescence, delinquency, drug abuse, and AIDS.

Sexual promiscuity often is part of the lifestyle of teenagers who are delinquent and abuse drugs, and that behavior puts them at increased risk of contracting HIV infection/AIDS. Many of these juveniles are runaways or live in disorganized homes, and as a result they are hard to reach and it is extremely difficult to provide health and other services to them. Indeed, these youths at risk most frequently may be identified and helped when they run afoul of the law and enter the judicial system. With that in mind, concerned professionals in San Antonio have developed an innovative program to provide primary care, drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation, and AIDS prevention education to the youthful offenders admitted to the Juvenile Detention Center of Bexar County. They hope it will give some of these youngsters the help and the opportunity they need to grow up, become productive citizens, and stay alive.