§ 97.104. Assessment of addiction and other treatment needs.
(a) The Department will conduct a risk assessment and assess the addiction and other treatment needs of a defendant committed to its custody for purposes of an evaluation.
(1) The assessment of addiction shall be conducted using a Nationally-recognized assessment instrument or an instrument that has been normed and validated on the Department’s inmate population by a recognized expert in these matters.
(2) For purposes of this section the term ‘‘recognized expert’’ means an individual who has earned the Doctor of Philosophy or the similar terminal degree in his field of study and who has published a number of peer reviewed validation studies.
(3) The Department currently uses the Texas Christian University Drug Screen II, an instrument that was developed under a Federal grant specifically for criminal offenders, is consistent with the DSM-IV criteria for substance abuse/dependence and is used by a number of criminal justice agencies. The Department’s criteria for selecting an assessment instrument are that:
(i) The instrument must be supported by strong academic research.
(ii) The instrument correspond with the then current DSM criteria for substance abuse or addiction, or both.
(iii) When possible, the instrument produces results that are statistically as reliable as results produced by the Texas Christian University Drug Screen II.
(4) The instrument will be administered by persons skilled in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction and trained to conduct assessments. The assessment will be reviewed and approved by a supervisor with at least 3 years of experience providing drug and alcohol counseling services. An individual will be considered skilled in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction if they have 1 year of experience as a Commonwealth Drug and Alcohol Treatment Specialist 1, or 2 years of professional experience providing drug and alcohol counseling services directly to clients in a social work setting and have earned a bachelor’s degree that includes 18 credits in the behavioral sciences or 1 year of paraprofessional and 1 year of professional experience providing drug and alcohol counseling services directly to clients in a social work setting and are certified by the Pennsylvania Chemical Abuse Certification Board as a ‘‘Certified Addictions Counselor’’ or 1 year of professional experience providing drug and alcohol counseling services directly to clients in a social work setting and a master’s degree with major coursework in addictions science, psychology or social work or an equivalent combination of experience and training which includes 18 college credits in the behavioral sciences. An individual will be considered trained to conduct assessments if the individual has completed the Department’s internal training program in performing assessments or has equivalent experience and knowledge.
(b) The Department will provide a report of its assessment to the court, the defendant, the attorney for the Commonwealth and the Sentencing Commission within 60 days of the commitment of the defendant to the Department for purposes of evaluation. If the Department determines that the defendant will benefit from a DOTP and placement in a DOTP is appropriate, the report will include a proposed DOTP detailing the type of treatment proposed for the defendant. If the Department determines that the defendant will not benefit from a DOTP or that placement in a DOTP is inappropriate, the report will set forth the reasons for the Department’s determination.
(c) The Department encourages resolution of as many unresolved charges against the defendant as possible prior to commitment for an evaluation. Resolution of unresolved charges, including arrests that appear on a defendant’s RAP sheet for which a disposition is not noted, assists the Department in completing an evaluation in a timely fashion. The Department will reconsider its report if the defendant has been deemed inappropriate for a DOTP because of unresolved charges or because the disposition of all arrests on the defendant’s RAP sheet is not known and the committing county provides the Department with the resolution of the charges or disposition of the arrests.
(d) The act provides that the court may not modify or alter the terms of the Department’s proposed DOTP without the agreement of the Department and attorney for the Commonwealth. See section 9904(f) of the act (relating to referral to State Intermediate Punishment Program). A request for modification of the terms of a proposed DOTP shall be sent to the Deputy Superintendent for the Diagnostic and Classification Center at the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill for male inmates and the Deputy Superintendent for Centralized Services at the State Correctional Institution at Muncy for female inmates.
(e) The sheriff or an agent shall return to the committing county a defendant whom the Department determines will not benefit from a DOTP or is inappropriate for placement in a DOTP within 60 days of the Department’s determination.
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