Rather than building parallel, uncoordinated systems to measure the risks and needs of prisoners, corrections officials and community providers should work collaboratively at every stage of the process. Engaging community-based professionals can help ensure that the intake procedure proceeds in a timely manner and that key issues are addressed as soon as possible.

Law enforcement officers should be considered an important community-based partner, as they tend to be the last point of contact with individuals before they enter the corrections system. In addition to consulting written materials such as the pre-sentence report, corrections staff should seek to partner with law enforcement partners to benefit from information that they may have acquired during repeat contacts with the person when he or she was in the community. Victims' advocates, who may work with law enforcement and/or prosecutors, may also be tapped for information that would be relevant to initial assessments. For instance, where victim contact information is not included in the victim impact statement or is otherwise not included in the institutional file, victims' advocates may be able to obtain this critical information, and add it to the inmate's institutional record.

Some individuals will require assessments that correspond to special needs such as mental or physical health disorders or learning disabilities. (See Recommendations h and i, above, for more on such assessments.) If a prisoner is identified as needing specialized testing, professionals in the relevant fields should administer those assessments. Corrections administrators should seek partnerships with community-based providers to build capacity for such assessment.

Example: HIV Coordinators, Massachusetts Department of Public Health/County Sheriff's Departments

In the Massachusetts county jail system, housing and health assessments of persons with HIV/AIDS are conducted by Department of Public Health-funded county jail HIV coordinators, who are able to maintain certain levels of client confidentiality (using non-disclosure agreements) with inmates regarding their health and housing needs. These confidential assessments allow HIV coordinators to collect more accurate information regarding inmates' health and housing needs than would be collected by correctional staff.

Involving community-based service providers in intake processes may facilitate re-entry as the prisoner moves closer to release, especially where the early connection is to an organization or provider that will work with the person during transition planning and upon re-entry.