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

8: Development of Intake Procedure

Establish a comprehensive, standardized, objective, and validated intake procedure that, upon the admission of the inmate to the corrections facility, can be used to assess the individual's strengths, risks, and needs.

Overview

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Ensuring successful re-entry requires understanding the relationship between the events that mark the beginning of a person's incarceration and those that mark the person's release into the community. Recommendations in this policy statement are organized into four parts: 1) "Inventory of Policies and Procedures"; 2) "Ensuring the Safety of Staff, Inmates, and Dependents"; 3) "Informing the Programming Plan"; and 4) "Keys to Effective Screening and Assessment" addresses other issues that should be considered in developing an assessment process, ideally for both short- and long-term assessments.

Research Highlights

Recommendations

  1. Review intake procedures to determine the range and validity of screening and assessment practices.
  2. Ensure that the screening and assessment process is appropriately prioritized, and that the overall intake procedure is streamlined and efficient.
  3. Develop an intake procedure appropriate to a short-term jail setting.
  4. Employ a risk-assessment instrument for classification and integrate other available public safety information.
  5. Screen all offenders for psychological and mental health issues, physical health problems, or substance abuse and dependency, in order to identify inmates who require further assessment.
  6. Ensure that the unattended dependents, if any, of each individual admitted to the facility are placed with a caretaker.
  7. Assess long-term and dynamic risks associated with each individual admitted to prison or jail.
  8. Conduct comprehensive assessments for each individual whose screening identifies psychological and mental health issues, physical health problems, and substance abuse and dependency.
  9. Assess interpersonal skills and basic literacy.
  10. Determine the vocational aptitudes, education levels, and employment histories of all sentenced individuals. 
  11. Review the individual's current benefits and entitlements and determine what steps will be needed to transition the individual back to those programs upon release.
  12. Assess all assets and debts and work with inmates to prevent the build-up of child support arrears upon their admission to a correctional facility.
  13. Chart the inmate's family life, including such factors as domestic violence, the impact of incarceration on relationships, and the involvement of children.
  14. Encourage the use of only validated screening and assessment instruments in the intake procedure.
  15. Encourage the use of instruments that can be modified for use beyond the initial assessment.
  16. Ensure that intake staff are properly trained to administer screening and assessment instruments.
  17. Engage community-based service providers to inform assessments and to administer screening and assessment instruments. 
  18. Address issues of cultural competency through staff training and the engagement of community-based providers.
  19. Assess the special needs of female offenders.
  20. Develop protocols to ensure the accuracy and availability of information while adhering to laws and regulations that govern the confidentiality of this data.
  21. Explain to prisoners the purpose and function of the screening and assessment process and the extent to which the information will be shared. 

Related Policy Statements

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Related Information

Issue Area:
Assessment Processes

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