NCJ Number
115188
Date Published
1988
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC) recently implemented an innovative classification system entitled 'Classification and Program Agreements' (CAPA).
Abstract
CAPA is a voluntary program agreement offered to selected inmates during the DOC classification hearing. All inmates serving a sentence where parole eligibility is 6 months or more away are eligible to sign a CAPA. Inmates with serious warrants, with mental health problems, with a significant disciplinary history, requiring significant protection or segregation, or who pose a threat to the community are ineligible. In the agreement, the DOC and the inmate contract for a scheduled reduction in security contingent upon inmate adjustment and program participation. The CAPA indicates the inmate's program needs, actions to be taken to meet those needs, the institution where the sentence will be served, and the transfer schedule according to which the inmate will be moved through the system. Inmates who abide by the CAPA are transferred to reduced security levels according to a Standard Movement Chronology. CAPA was envisioned as an objective and systematic process for identifying and assessing inmate program and security needs. It also was seen as a tool for forecasting and managing bedspace, enhancing inmate management, motivating inmate program participation, and increasing the likelihood of successful reintegration from higher to lower security levels and, ultimately, back into society. The Standard Movement Chronology is appended, 9 references. (Author abstract modified)