Table 1 Core dimensions of the assessment continuum

Measurement and instrumentation

This dimension is concerned with the breadth and quality of instruments that a correctional agency uses to identify the strengths, weaknesses, and service needs of substance-using offenders. Nine domains have been identified as being fundamental to a high quality assessment of offenders with substance use disorders:

1. History and patterns of substance abuse

2. History of and engagement in drug treatment

3. Motivation for treatment

4. History of mental illness

5. Suitability for pharmacological treatment

6. Medical history

7. HIV/AIDS status and risk factors

8. Criminal behavior

9. Criminogenic risk factors

In addition to focusing on the comprehensiveness of the assessment, this dimension is also concerned with the psychometric properties of the instruments.

Integration with the case plan

This dimension is concerned with the extent to which the correctional case plan explicitly addresses each of the nine assessment domains. It also seeks to gauge efficacy and suitability to the needs of the offender as called for in the written problem statement, goals, objectives, and suggested interventions.

Conveyance and utility

This dimension is concerned with the extent to which community-based treatment programs receive the information contained in the corrections agency case plan and with the degree to which the programs find the information useful in arranging services for clients.

Service activation/provision

This dimension is concerned with whether the client is engaged in community treatment, with the type and nature of services received, and with communication between agencies about the treatment.