Module 1: Getting Started

Module 2: Leadership, Vision and Organizational Culture

Module 3: Collaborative Structure and Joint Ownership

Module 4: Data-Driven Understanding of Local Reentry

Module 5: Targeted Intervention Strategies

Module 6: Screening and Assessment

Module 7: Transition Plan Development

Module 8: Targeted Transition Interventions

Module 9: Self-Evaluation and Sustainability

Module 6: Screening and Assessment

Welcome to Screening and Assessment. This module focuses on screening and assessment, the starting point of any targeted intervention strategy.

The implementation of facility-wide screening and assessment allows us to triage higher-risk inmates into the programs and interventions targeted for their needs, without spending unnecessary resources on low-risk offenders who are not likely to return to jail. The process allows us to target scarce resources for the offenders who have the greatest needs.

—Shannon Murphy
Reentry Director and TJC Site Coordinator
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
Douglas County, Kansas

Before we begin, take some time to think about the screening and assessment your facility presently does.

A basic definition for screening is the use of a brief instrument to detect an individual’s potential risk or needs, while assessment is the process of identifying and documenting the specific risk and needs.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1.

Does your intake screening process utilize an empirically based medical screen(s)?
All the time
Some of the time Never Don’t know

2.

Does your intake screening process identify individuals with mental health issues?

3.

Does your intake screening process identify individuals with substance abuse issues?

All the time
Some of the time Never Don’t know

4.

Does your intake screening process identify individuals with suicide risk?

All the time
Some of the time Never Don’t know

5.

Do individuals who score positive on mental health or substance abuse screens receive further empirically based assessments?

All the time
Some of the time Never Don’t know

6.

Does your intake screening process utilize an empirically based pretrial release screen?

 

All the time
Some of the time Never Don’t know

7.

Are detainees with low pretrial release risk scores generally recommended for release?

All the time
Some of the time Never Don’t know

8.

Does your intake screening process utilize an empirically based risk-to-reoffend screen(s)?  

All the time
Some of the time Never Don’t know

9.

Do individuals who score medium or higher on the risk and needs screens receive further empirically based assessments?

All the time
Some of the time Never Don’t know

10.

Are your risk and needs screens distinct from your classification system instrument?

Yes
No

11.

Does your facility use an objective classification system for all incarcerated people?

All the time
Some of the time Never Don’t know

Did you answer “All the time” to the above questions? If not, this module is meant to help you understand why these different assessment processes are so important to the Transition from Jail to Community (TJC) model.

This module has five sections and will take between 10 and 15 minutes to complete.

Recommended audience for this module:

This module also includes a list of links to commonly used screens and assessments.

Download Module 6 in PDF format.

 
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