Assignment 2: RA 1: Developing an Intake Assessment

In this assignment, you will study a case scenario involving the intake of an inmate transfer. Then, you will formulate assessment questions, develop diagnostic impressions, and prepare a report that effectively communicates treatment and other relevant recommendations within a correctional environment.

Review the following scenario:

An inmate, Robert Palmer, at another facility received a disciplinary transfer for assaulting another inmate. Palmer is being transferred to the high-security penitentiary at which you work. Upon entering the office where the intake assessment will take place, Palmer declares that you have power because you are the forensic mental health professional. He states that you need to recommend that he be allowed to live in a single cell (celled alone) or else he will kill himself.

Palmer has a history of various psychiatric diagnoses, including schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and malingering. His psychological records show that he has been on a suicide watch at previous institutions due to engaging in self-mutilation and had engaged in highly frequent disruptive behavior at the special housing unit (segregation unit) where he was housed.

Tasks:

You are the forensic professional at the high-security penitentiary assigned to complete an intake assessment of this inmate.

Create a 5- to 7-page document including an intake assessment and a treatment and recommendations report for this inmate, explaining both his history and current evaluation.

Part 1

Intake Assessment (Approximately 1–2 pages): Identify at least 10–15 intake questions you will ask Palmer given the available background information on him and the manner in which he presented himself to you. Explain which diagnoses from his past records you suspect are applicable now; support your findings given the inmate’s presentation and behavioral interactions with you.

Part 2

Treatment and Recommendations Report (Approximately 3–5 pages): Describe the critical concerns you identified in the intake assessment about this inmate with regard to harming himself or others. Provide recommendations for the inmate’s immediate care. Provide recommendations for the inmate’s long-term care. Identify the main concerns of this case that you would want to communicate to other correctional professionals in the institution in order to ensure the inmate is managed effectively, both from clinical and correctional standpoints.