A: Admission to the Facility
Policy Statement 8: Development of Intake Procedure
Recommendation A: Review intake procedures to determine the range and validity of screening and assessment practices.
Corrections administrators and staff should implement a review of the intake procedure currently used to screen and assess the risks, needs, and strengths of each person committed to a particular prison or jail, in order to build an understanding of what the critical issues are and the ability of existing practices to address them. Engaging appropriate community-based or clinical experts (such as service providers or university-based researchers) to assist with this survey can ensure the efficacy and reliability of the review. At the same time, such collaboration can lay a foundation for corrections administrators to work with the community to ensure that any new instruments that are developed or adopted will fulfill the needs of the intake process.
This inventory should include a determination of which screening and assessment tools are currently being used by corrections staff and whether they have been validated for use in institutions of that general size and type and for a population with congruent demographic characteristics. Administrators should also gauge the range of issue areas reviewed by screening and assessment tools used in their jurisdictions. Screening and assessment should cover both static and dynamic factors that indicate risk while incarcerated, risk of re-offending, and the potential for successful community re-entry. Generally the assessment process should include the following: pencil-and-paper screening instruments that can be administered quickly and have a limited number of questions; assessment instruments that are longer, explore more areas, or analyze greater detail; and additional information-gathering, including review of any criminal justice records and consultation of other sources. The following table, "Intake Assessment / Risk/Needs Determination Chart," lists--and Recommendations d through l describe in greater detail--specific categories that should be considered for assessment. Though these categories are critical to conducting thorough assessment, this table should not be considered a checklist. Some assessments may cover multiple categories at once. Additional or "stacked" assessments should be considered for special populactions such as sex offenders, individuals with a history of domestic violence, mentally retarded or developmentally disabled inmates, and others.