Corrections_Today_January_February_2019

Office of Correctional Health

The new BIU operational process involves three steps: First, separate those who present a risk. Second, assess the resident’s needs and goals. Third, equip residents for suc- cess. Under the new BIU program, the captain admits the resident for investigation. The sergeant per- forms a Brief Mental Health Screen upon admission. Crisis intervention services are obtained if indicated. The following business day, the unit manager and the chief of security review the placement and determine if the disruptive behavior requires placement into BIU programming, or if an alternative plan can be put in place to allow the resident to remain in less restrictive housing. Four out of five residents placed in investiga- tive status are released in general population following this review. For those who remain, an Interven- tional Needs Assessment (INA) is performed by behavioral health staff. The INA includes an evaluation of violence risk, insight, motivation to participate in programming and to change behavior, specific behaviors to target for change, stage of change and short-and long-term goals that the resident identifies. Privileges or property are identified that may serve as reinforcement when the resident meets a prosocial goal. The behavior- al health staff member who completes the INAmakes a recommendation to the deputy warden about whether the resident should remain in BIU and participate in the program or return to general population housing.

If the resident is to remain in BIU, behavioral health staff makes a recommendation about the type and intensity of services needed. The BIU team, consisting of the deputy warden for programs, treatment services di- rector and chief of security, meets to determine suitability for entry into the BIU program. Residents with an ac- tive serious mental illness, using ACA definition and guideline, are ineligible and are placed in alternative housing.

and to acknowledge performance of targeted pro-social behaviors. Ex- amples of engaging activities might include bean bags at rec, tier bingo, movies or art projects. Security staff members practice specific, targeted skills with each resident once per shift. Increased out-of-cell time allows residents to practice skills and reduces the negative impact of confinement. The mantra of the BIU is “Behave your way in, behave your way out.” The goal of the program is prog- ress, not perfection. Once residents have practiced and demonstrated pro- social skills to staff, they are moved to the Administrative Transition Unit (ATU). When residents transfer to the ATU, the expectation shifts from being able to practice prosocial skills to being able to demonstrate them in real-time scenarios. Residents are gradually given increased access to general population. They still spend most of their day within the unit. They can move about the unit without restraints and interact with one another in a smaller, less stress- ful setting. BIU staff can continue to monitor progress and move residents back into the more restrictive levels of monitoring as necessary. The BIU program redesign represents a dramatic change in the philosophy, policy and procedure of the NDDOCR. Security staff and behavioral health staff levels in the new unit are maintained at their previous levels, despite the decrease in resident numbers. This creates a

The mantra of the BIU is “Behave your way in, behave your way out.”

Once the resident has been referred to the program, the ques- tion the team poses is, “What does this person need to do for us in order to determine that he is safe to return to general population hous- ing?” From there, the team begins to determine target behaviors and cognitive and behavioral skills that the resident needs to learn and practice to display effectively those prosocial behaviors. Behavioral Intervention Programming focuses on building positive staff relation- ships, using the concept of dynamic security. Individualized skills groups occur three times a week. Verbal and tangible rewards are used to increase interaction, encourage participation, improve motivation

64 — January/February 2019 Corrections Today