The screening and assessment portions of the intake process over the first few weeks of a person's incarceration provide the data necessary to identify his or her primary needs and strengths. (See Policy Statement 8, Development of Intake Procedure, for more on the screening and assessment of prisoners within their first few days and weeks of incarceration). To analyze that data and use it to develop a comprehensive plan of correctional programming, however, requires time and expertise. Accordingly, corrections administrators should assign a person or a team of people the responsibility of translating the data obtained during intake into treatment, services, and other interventions that complement each individual's strengths and respond to each individual's needs.

Although a single program planner or team leader might be selected for administrative purposes, he or she should work with or be able to consult a multidisciplinary team of professionals who can interpret and integrate the initial data and apply an appropriate programming strategy to it. Thus, a program planning team might consist of a series of social service providers, including, but not limited to, health care personnel, workforce specialists, counselors, psychologists, and educational consultants. The team leader should be someone with a background in social services who is well-versed in the program offerings in the facility. As described further in the recommendations below, the team leader and team members could be corrections employees or could be employees of community-based organizations working or part-time in the correctional facility. Either way, team members should be willing and able to draw on community resources and programs as they design each programming plan.

Example: Reentry Management Team, Community-Oriented Reentry, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction

For each individual who is incarcerated, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction forms a Reentry Management Team, consisting of a representative from each of the up to seven program areas in which the individual can receive treatment or services, as well as, where applicable, health or mental health care representatives. These seven program areas are: (1) employment & education; (2) substance abuse; (3) community functioning; (4) attitude; (5) family/marital/personal relationships; (6) personal & emotional; (7) associates. The Reentry Management Team is one component of Ohio's Community-Oriented Reentry Program, which is funded by a SVORI grant.

In addition to program and treatment professionals, the program planning team should include the person who has been incarcerated. The team should also include, or gather input from, the individual's family, community members, and victim or victim advocates (as described in Recommendation c, below). Including the perspectives of these key stakeholders enriches the basis of information on which programming decisions are made and increases the respective parties' investment in the programming plan.

The programming plan should organize its recommendations into a series of steps that anticipate the inmate's eventual return to the community, while appreciating the complexity of working among a range of service providers, including providers based in the community. Accordingly, the plan should address a wide range of subject areas, and should outline when each of the prescribed service providers should become involved with the inmate's rehabilitation and re-entry. For example, a plan might recommend that an inmate start with basic educational skills (such as English as a second language, literacy, or numeracy) before entering a specific vocational training course (such as word processing, welding, plumbing, or masonry) or seeking a particular credential (such as a GED, diploma, or computer certification). In turn, the plan should specify who will provide the services for each step, and whether those providers are corrections-based, community-based, or some mix of the two.

Although the volume of inmates and limited program availability may slow the intake and referral process, the programming plan should ideally be completed within thirty days of the inmate's admission into the facility. In any event, the person or team coordinating the programming plan should be charged with expediting the process so that implementation of the plan can begin as soon as possible. The complete program planning process may not be applicable to short-term inmates (generally those in jail facilities) but, as discussed in Recommendation h, below, there are some planning steps that can be taken even for people who are incarcerated only for short terms.