NCJ Number
194710
Journal
Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 13 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2002 Pages: 65-78
Date Published
March 2002
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article reports on a limited evaluation of California's Porterville Developmental Center's Court Competency Training Program (CCTP), which is designed to prepare developmentally disabled defendants for competency to stand trial.
Abstract
The study involved 20 developmentally disabled persons (18 males and 2 females between the ages of 19 and 74). Of these participants, 10 had been adjudicated incompetent to stand trial. The treatment group consisted of 10 persons found incompetent to stand trial who were mandated to receive court competency training. The other 10 participants were not associated with the legal system, did not receive court competency training, and lived at the Developmental Center. In the CCTP, persons are initially assessed with the Competency Assessment Instrument (CAI), and an opening evaluation is written and placed in their files. Within the first 60 days of admission, a staff psychologist submits a report to the referring court. Every 90 days following admission, the court receives a report from a staff psychologist. The information in the report encompasses test scores, behavior in class, detection of malingering, behavior on the unit, and cooperation. The participant is re-evaluated with the CAI every 2 to 4 months. Weekly minitests are administered to track progress in the course, and progress is reviewed at weekly program review meetings. The CCTP course is conducted in a group setting and is psychoeducational, following a didactic format. The findings of this evaluation show that individuals who were adjudged incompetent to stand trial due to developmental disability and enrolled for 6 months in the training program demonstrated significant gain in CAI score. The same gain was not evidenced by the 10 residents who were not criminal defendants and not enrolled in the training program. Although the results were based on a small sample size, they suggest that additional research with the CAI and developmentally delayed criminal defendants would be useful. 6 tables and 28 references