The Revised TC Prison Standards are contained in Appendix B. These reflect the conclusions and recommendations of the Phase II project as modified and approved by the TCA Criminal Justice Committee. TCA recommends dissemination of Prison TC Standards as general information to the field. Periodic refinement and revision of these standards will be informed through their general implementation in the field as guidelines for program accreditation, staff training, and staff certification.

The TCA standards represent the core elements and best practices of the therapeutic community treatment approach modified as TC treatment in correctional settings. Based upon theoretical writings, research, and clinical experience (see for example De Leon, 1995, 1997, in press; Lipton, 1997), the standards were developed to provide quality assurance of therapeutic community programming in the prison settings. They should be distinguished from standards required for prison institutions in general or health care components within prison institutions. For example, the standards for functional areas such as safety, security, and order are more appropriately included in institutional-wide evaluations (see for example, Performance Standards for Adult Community Residential Standards (4th ed.), American Correctional Association, 1999). TC programs in prisons must comply with basic institutional regulations and standards. However, accreditation of TC-oriented programs within prison settings signifies compliance with minimum standards for implementing the essential elements and best practices of the TC treatment model and method.

Specific Caveats

Interpretative guidelines for these standards are under development as part of the TCA standards project. Until these are available, implementation of these standards for accreditation and other uses should be guided by the following considerations.

• These national standards are minimum criteria for assuring appropriate implementation of prison based TC oriented programs. Their efficacy as guidelines for accreditation or quality assurance criteria depends upon use of the standards in their entirety. Modifications in the form of deletions, additions, word changes, and selective omissions of particular sections could undermine the integrity, validity, and utility of the standards.

• These national standards can guide the development of standards that are specific to states or other jurisdictions. TCA can assist states in the appropriate adaptations of the national standards to meet local conditions.

• Accreditation of prison TC programs based upon these national standards should be conducted by qualified agencies or bodies, e.g., the American Correctional Association (ACA), to assure their appropriate use in the accreditation process.

• The present standards represent generic guidelines for prison-based TCs. However, compliance with these standards should be appropriately assessed in terms of the particular characteristics and special needs of the participants in prison-based TC programs (e.g., MICAs, females, juveniles, sex offenders). Funding and training resources must be available to improve the program's capability to address these special needs.

• Accreditation based upon these standards must consider factors influencing the program's capacity to comply with the standards. Such factors include the age of the program start up (e.g., early stage, experienced), institutional restrictions (e.g., degree of isolation of the program from the general population in prisons, prison referral pathways, and classification criteria), limits of funding resources, and the presence of appropriate aftercare services.

• These national standards reflect the essential elements and best practices of the TC approach. Thus, they can be utilized for initiatives in staff training, credentialling and licensure. TC training should include a curriculum, expert faculty, and teaching format that appropriately reflect scope and intent of the standards.

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