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Office of Treatment Services

Office of Inmate Health and Clinical Services

The Office of Inmate Health and Clinical Services, under the authority of the Executive Director of Field Support for Treatment Services, is responsible for the provision of treatment to offenders under the control and custody of the Department.  Such treatment is delivered in an integrated fashion to address the full range of needs of the offender and to ensure a continuum of care for offenders from the street, through incarceration, and upon release to the community.  The treatment services offered include:  medical health, mental health, and substance abuse that comport with community standards; treatment program opportunities to address criminal behavior; and release planning assistance to ensure continuity of care and continued treatment upon release.  These services are provided through the following distinct treatment units:

Office of Inmate Health Services (OIHS)

This unit oversees a health care delivery system that provides comprehensive primary, secondary, specialty health and hospitalization services to the pretrial and resident populations.  The health care system provides medical, psychiatric, dental, and pharmacy services consistent with generally accepted standards of care through competitively bid contractual relationships with private health care providers having expertise in their respective health discipline.  Direct service clinical practitioners are located on site, in numbers and type, consistent with the needs of the offender population.  The services delivered by these practitioners and the performance of the private health care providers are continually monitored by the staff of the Office of Inmate Health Services to ensure contract compliance and quality of care.  For more detailed information on the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, go to Procurement.

Mental Health

This unit oversees the delivery of mental health services to ensure a continuum of care and a comprehensive service system that includes acute inpatient, long-term residential, step-down, out-patient and transitional care.   Psychologists are located in every geographical region of the State to:  treat the seriously mentally ill, respond to mental health crises, and provide routine as well as follow-up counseling services to the offender population.  These clinicians work together with the private psychiatric services provider to ensure that the mental health needs of the offenders are met in the most clinically appropriate manner.

Social Work Services

The primary mission of this unit of licensed bachelor or master degree level social workers is to assist special need offenders in developing a plan for continued treatment upon release.  Release planning is provided to anyone with a serious medical or mental health need, long-term incarceration, or in situations of extreme antisocial behavior where release represents a public threat.   Social Work also provides individual and group interventions to offenders to assist them with: adjustment to incarceration or other difficult situations, their desire for life changes, and preparation for reentry into society. 

Substance Abuse Treatment Services

The substance abuse treatment unit oversees a system of treatment that is conducive to treating all levels of addiction.  These services include modified therapeutic communities for the offender with a higher addiction risk, intensive outpatient for moderate addiction, and aftercare reinforcement and relapse prevention. The goal of these cognitively-based treatment modalities is to provide offenders with skill building techniques which will enable them to change their behavior and cope with high risk situations for drug abuse and criminal behavior throughout their lives.