About the Report The Report, Part II: Review of the Re-Entry Process:

chapters and policy statements:
About the Report of the Re-Entry Council

Policy Statement 10, Recommendation F

Ensure that even short-term inmates receive basic medical care and transition planning services.

Inmates who spend as little as 24 to 48 hours in a correctional setting may still benefit from correctional health care services. Condensed incarceration effectively means condensed services: the assessment, treatment, and discharge planning may all occur during one meeting. The APIC model is a demonstration of how to address the treatment needs of an individual who briefly enters a correctional facility and will almost inevitably return to the community with ongoing treatment needs. [1]   Although the model was initially developed for individuals with co-occurring disorders, it is equally applicable in the physical health context. The APIC model divides transition planning and treatment into four steps:

  • ASSESS the individual's clinical and social needs and public safety risks;
  • PLAN for the treatment and services required to address his or her needs;
  • IDENTIFY required community and correctional programs responsible for postrelease services; and
  • COORDINATE the transition plan to ensure implementation and avoid gaps in care with community-based services. [2]  

    Providers can adapt the APIC model to varying social and health care needs, prioritizing elements under each step according to the time and resources available for a given inmate. For example, the "assessment" phase for someone who is incarcerated for only 72 hours might include only cataloguing his or her psychosocial, medical, and behavioral needs and strengths; indeed, it may be no more than the initial screening process described in Policy Statement 8, Development of Intake Procedure. In contrast, "assessment" for someone who is incarcerated for several months could be much more comprehensive, including continual observation and testing, as well as information-gathering from third-party sources including law enforcement, courts, family members, and community treatment providers. [3]   While APIC is not the only model for short-term jail stays, it is a critical reminder that even people who are briefly involved in the criminal justice system provide an opportunity to improve individual and public health. This gain is especially evident when institutional treatment includes referral to community-based services.

    Example: Hampden County Correctional and Community Health Program, Hampden County Sheriffs Department (MA)

    Approximately one third of the inmates at Hampden County Correctional Center stay for three days or fewer. The program manages the size and turnover of the population by doing an early intake assessment of each person's medical, mental health, and dental needs; providing nurses in inmates' housing units to manage all non-emergency health care needs; keeping a time nurse and HIV health educator on staff; partnering with several community-based health and social work services; and linking all the parties with an efficient computer system.

    1. Fred Osher, Henry J. Steadman, and Heather Barr, A Best Practice Approach to Community Re-Entry from Jails for Inmates with Co-Occurring Disorders: The APIC Model (Delmar, NY: The National Gains Center, 2002). back
    2. Ibid. back
    3. For more examples on adapting the APIC steps to varying correctional situations, see ibid. back
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