Mental health screening and evaluation within prisons.
J. L. Metzner, R. D. Miller and D. Kleinsasser,
Bull. Amer. Acad. Psychiatry & the Law
22(3): 451-7, 1994.
Current national standards and/or guidelines for correctional mental health care programs emphasize
the importance of various levels of mental health screening and evaluation that should be performed
by qualified personnel on all inmates as part of the admission process to a prison. The authors
describe the results of a study that included data from all 50 state departments of corrections
regarding prison mental health screening and evaluation models. The vast majority of states appear
to have adopted some variation of the most recognized guidelines and/or standards (e.g., American
Psychiatric Association, National Commission on Correctional Health Care, American Public Health
Association) concerning correctional health care systems. Results are also provided concerning the
use of standardized psychological tests and informed consent issues.