Course Details

Course Description

The purpose of this one-day, 6-hour workshop is to help experienced psychologists improve their interviewing and report writing skills with respect to determining the suitability/unsuitability of correctional officer candidates. The course will focus on discerning and weighing various sources of convergent and divergent data along the POST psychological dimensions; as part of this, the CDCR background investigation process will be discussed and its relevance for structuring interviews and reports. Using and weighing results from the MMPI-2-RF and CPI to assist in the interview and report writing process will also be addressed, along with which interpretive resources for correctional peace officers are most relevant. Examples of suitable and unsuitable case examples will be presented and discussed with the goal of viewing the aforementioned topics in the most practical and legally sound light possible. Upon completion of this workshop, the attending psychologist will have a better understanding of what an independent reviewer looks for in the psychological pre-employment report and how to effectively assess and screen for mental health issues that may impact occupational success for Correctional and Law Enforcement personnel.

Course Objectives

1. ) Effectively utilize various sources of data to structure pre-employment psychological interviews for correctional peace officers
   
2. ) Effectively utilize various sources of data to structure psychological interview report for pre-employment psychological interviews for correctional peace officers
   
3. ) Discuss the relevance of the MMPI-2-RF and CPI profiles for structuring interview questions and writing suitability reports and discuss cultural differences and their potential impact on the MMPI-2-RF and CPI  
   
4. ) Discuss the importance of follow-up questions specific to each individual candidate’s unique case factors
   
5. ) Identify the most valid interpretive resources for interpreting MMPI-2-RF and CPI profiles.
   
6. ) Effectively utilize the background investigation summary report to inform the pre-employment psychological interview; participants should also be able to discuss the various methods used to obtain information in the background investigation process, to include limitations 
   
7. ) Discuss the relevance of job performance as it relates to personality traits. 
   
8. ) State the rationale for deeming the pre-employment correctional candidate as suitable or unsuitable for a given peace officer classification
   
9. ) Demonstrate effective report writing abilities effectively structure the report for pre-employment Law Enforcement/Correctional Officer reports