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Q

Qualified Health Care Professional (QHCP): Any person who by virtue of their education, credentials, and experience is permitted by law to evaluate and care for patients. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, physicians, physicians assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists, and mental health professionals. (354.05 – 9/07, 413.08, 413.11)

Qualified Mental Health Professional (Qmhp): Any person with professional training, experience, and demonstrated competence in the treatment of mental illness, who is a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, nurse, psychiatric nurse practitioner, OR other qualified person eligible for licensure in the state of Vermont as a mental health clinician and approved by the Health Services Directors to provide mental health services. (413.08, 413.11)

Qualified Ranked Candidate List: A ranked list of applicants for a given position. (122.01)

Qualitative Fit Test: A pass/fail fit test to assess the adequacy of the fit of the respirator to the individual. It relies on the individual's response to the test agent. (404.02 – 3/07)

Quantitative Fit Test: An assessment of the adequacy of respirator fit by numerically measuring the amount of leakage into the respirator. (404.02 – 3/07)

Quarterly Status and Training Report (QSTR):  A thorough report submitted to the Department Chief of Emergency Services on a quarterly basis. (414.04)

R

Random Testing:  Testing based on an impartial method of selecting the persons to be tested, (e.g., a lottery system using room numbers or names). Random tests will be full screen tests. (367.01)

Random Search:  A search based upon an impartial method of selecting the persons or places to be searched, (e.g., a lottery system using names, room numbers, etc.) (409.01)

Rater: The manager or supervisor who actually writes a subordinate’s performance evaluation. (113)

Raw Data: Data resulting from any testing protocol that is not integrated into an explanatory report.  Examples include laboratory test results or MMPI scales. (254.02)

Reasonable Access to Legal Materials: Reasonable access will consist of no less that twelve (12) hours each week of "access" to the Vermont correctional facility law libraries, ILAs and ILLs, forms and materials contained therein to all inmates regardless of segregation status, subject to security and disciplinary restrictions and previously established policies, directives and facility procedures.  The allocation of 12 hours will be determined on a facility by facility basis.  In an unusual or extraordinary circumstance, facility staff is encouraged to provide additional access on a case by case basis. (385.01)

Reasonable Accommodation:  Any means by which a program service is made available to an offender without causing undue hardship; undue hardship is defined to be a significant difficulty or expense when considered in light of the nature and cost of the accommodation. (371.01)

Reasonable Belief: Judgment based on information or observation deemed to be credible. (327.01)

Reasonable Force: The use of physical force to achieve a legitimate correctional objective where the type and amount of force are consistent with the situation and the objective to be achieved, where alternatives to physical force are unavailable or ineffective, and where the force used is the minimum necessary to control the situation. (413.01, Interim Procedure – Use of Force Field and Threats on Staff)

Reasonable Suspicion:  A reasonable belief, based on specific and articuable facts, that an inmate or offender is engaged in, or has engaged in, behavior that violates his/her conditions of confinement, furlough, parole, probation and/or behavior that is criminal (367.01) and that a search will uncover specific evidence of such violation. (409.01)

Receiving Office:  The probation/parole office, which is receiving a case transfer request. (340, 340.01)

Record Series:  A group of related records arranged under a single filing system or kept together as a unit because they relate to a particular subject, result from the same activity, or have a particular form. (252)

Records: All papers, maps, photographs, films, recordings, computer tapes, or other documentation or copies thereof, made or received by any agency of the State in connection with the transaction of public business. (51,252)

Records Center: The depository for housing records transferred from office space, staffed with personnel responsible for the maintenance and service of such documentation. (252)

Records Coordinator:  The Department staff member responsible for coordinating, maintaining, and complying with the records management program, as designated by each Superintendent or District Manager, for each facility and probation and parole office or sub-office. (252)

Records Management: A program designed to provide economical and efficient maintenance and disposition of documentation, ensuring the destruction of value-less documentation and preservation of valuable documentation. (252)

Records Officer: The member of each State Agency or Department, designated by the head of said State Agency or Department, responsible for the maintenance and implementation of an active and continuing records management program.  The records officer for the Department shall be the Director of Research and Planning. (252)

Recreation and Leisure Services Fund:  All commissions collected from the use of telephones and vending machines, to include canteen profits, by inmates. (309)

Recreation and Leisure Skills:  Knowledge and abilities gained from involvement in pro-social skills programs.  The knowledge and skill to value and use constructively the time a person has when he/she is not working, sleeping, or meeting other personal needs. (308.01, 309)

Recreation Inmate Fund:  All commissions collected from commissary sales, inmate telephone usage, or any other inmate generated revenues in each facility. (308.02)

Recreation Services Coordinator:   A staff member who has education and experience in recreation and pro-social skills services and uses these abilities to help offenders develop these skills.  Responsibilities include coordinating and evaluating recreation and pro-social service programs and purchases in a facility. (308.02)

Reference Check:  An inquiry into the background of an applicant.  This check is conducted to verify the information provided by the applicant on the Vermont State Application and during the interview. (122.04)

Regional Emergency Preparedness Coordinator (REPC):  Individual(s) specifically trained in emergency preparedness and setting up emergency manuals for facilities.  There will be one REPC for each of the following areas:  Northeast, Northwest, and Southern (SE & SW) areas of the state. (414.03)

Regional Facility:  Correctional facility for inmates serving short sentences, e.g., under two years.  Generally there are programs for academic and vocational education, recreation, life skills and leisure time. (316)

Registered Nurse: A health care professional who is licensed in the State of Vermont to practice professional nursing. (202)

Registered Volunteer: Any person who performs a function within a correctional facility for no payment from the Agency of Human Services.  They may receive a stipend from an outside source.  A registered volunteer has completed a Department application, screening and training, has a volunteer photo ID, and is listed with the Volunteer Services Coordinator as an approved volunteer. (380.01 – 1/08)

Regular Social Visit: A meeting, conducted during routine visiting hours, between an inmate and a person listed on the inmate’s approved visitor list. (327.01)

Rehabilitation:  To restore to a former capacity, to a condition of health or useful or constructive activity. (03)

Reintegrate: To renew, to re-instate, to restore unity with the community. (03)

Reintegration:  Any process that assists offenders in assuming responsible roles as productive and law-abiding members of the community and identifies ways to assist victim recovery. (256)

Reintegration Furlough: A furlough prior to the minimum sentence to prepare an incarcerated inmate for re-entry into the community. (371.05 – 11/07, 371.26)

Relative: An individual related by blood, adoption, marriage, civil union or other legally recognized relationships. This may include relationships other than a relative at the discretion of the Superintendent. (372.03)

Relative or family/familial:  Includes parent, grandparent, spouse, child, brother, sister, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, parent in-law, brother in-law, sister in-law, step-parent, step-child, and any other person closely related through marriage. (126.01)

 Release of Information Consent Form:  A form signed by a client authorizing the release of information pertaining to identity or treatment status, performance or other personal information gained through the treatment process. (254.03)

Release Sensitive Notification (RSN) Case: A case in which the Department takes special care in release planning and the release of an offender and notifies parties who may be concerned before an offender is released. A case is assigned RSN status by the central case staffing team based on field and facility recommendation. Criteria for RSN status include, but are not limited to, LSI scores, victim and community sentiment, media or political notoriety of the offense, and being a listed or Level C offender. This does not pertain to sentence-detained or detained offenders. (371.05 – 11/07)

Religious Activity: Any rite, ceremony, event, or program that is customarily associated with the practices of a religion, including, but not limited to, formal group gatherings of a religion for purposes of worship, prayer, or teaching. (380.01 – 1/08)

Religious Diet: Specific foods and/or food preparation techniques that satisfy religious dietary requirements. (354.05 – 9/07)

Religious Observance Program: Includes any formal faith-based activities, services, and practices in a correctional facility, which are coordinated or monitored by staff in order for inmates to practice their religious beliefs while incarcerated. (380.01 – 1/08)

Religious Volunteer: A Department of Corrections’ registered volunteer who conducts individual or group religious activity in a correctional facility. (380.01 – 1/08)

Reparation:  The act of repairing the violation of the social contract and the harm caused to victims and communities; with historical roots of restitution as a sanction for violating the law, a reparative mediation brings the offender face to face with the community and victim through community reparation boards where activities designed to repair and restore are negotiated. (501.02)

Reparative Panel:  If a current board decides, they need to have another meeting time to accommodate more cases, or victim or board member schedules, this group would be considered a “panel” of the current board, with the same by-laws and community/county name as the existing board. (501.02)

Reparative Probation:  A program under the legal status of probation, using an Administrative Probation Order and participatory direction from a board of citizens, whereby an offender participates in activities designed to 1) make amends to the victim of his/her crime; 2) repair the community; 3) learn about the impact of his/her crime on others; and 4) learn ways not to re-offend. (501.02)

Reparative Program Activities Curriculum:  A menu for reparative boards to use when developing activities for offenders, which uses a curriculum method and model for the identification, organization, and documentation of those activities. (501.02)

Reparative Services Track:  A program track organized and designed to focus on repairing the social contract violated by the commission of a crime, and to involve the victim of that crime in the process. (501.02)

Reporting: Any communication of offender information that is made by a DOC employee, volunteer, agent or contractor that is required by law or this policy whether or not a request for such information is made. (255)

Reporting:  Written reporting of an incident, to include database and staff and supervisory written reports. (405.02)

Reporting Staff: The staff member who recommends bringing a charge against an inmate by preparing a disciplinary report (Directive #410.01, Attachment 2).  (410.01) The staff member who recommends an inmate be placed on Administrative Segregation by completing the Segregation Placement Form (Directive 410.03, Attachment 1).  (410.03)

Residential Substance Abuse Treatment:  A treatment approach to changing substance use/abuse patterns which depends on the person being treated residing on a 24 hour basis, over an extended period of time, to benefit from the environment thus created and the specialized activities established as the treatment required.  The residential facilities are frequently non-medical in nature. (363)

Respiratory Protection Program Administrator: A Department of Corrections employee of a correctional facility designated by the Facility Superintendent to administer that facility’s Respiratory Protection Program. (404.02 – 3/07)

Responsibility: An individual’s personal obligation or accountability for performance. (410.01)

Responsible Health Care Authority: The individual delegated responsibility for a facility’s health care services, including arrangements for all levels of health care and ensuing quality and accessibility of all health services provided to inmates.  When this authority is other than a physician, final medical judgments rest with a single designated licensed physician. (254.02)

Responsivity Principle:  The principle of correction’s practice which stresses the importance of delivering correctional treatment services using methods and techniques matched to offender learning style and motivational level. (371.06)

Resolution:  A disturbance will be considered resolved when there is no danger of further conflict or disturbance, order has been restored, and the process of re-establishment of normal operations can occur. (414)

Restitution:  The act of repaying or compensating for loss, damage, or injury; money or services which a court orders a defendant to pay or render to a victim as part of the disposition. (502.04)

Restrictive Housing Status: A designation which provides for closely regulated management through placement on Administrative Segregation status or by placement on Disciplinary Segregation. (410.06)

Restorative Justice:  A justice paradigm that emphasizes a collaborative experience between victims, offenders, and communities with the goal of finding a “restorative” resolution of harm caused by the commission of a crime.  A restorative model defines crime as a violation of one person by another, promotes a problem solving focus based on “dialogue” that brings victims, offenders and communities together to come to agreement on a “restorative” resolution.  The community plays a facilitative role in the restorative process of righting the harm and injuries caused by the offender, with assistance to the victim a first priority.  Offenders are held accountable and liable for victim and social injuries caused, and mutually participate in deciding how to make things right.  Finally, the offender develops improved competency and understanding as a result of the restorative justice experience. (501.02)

Restorative Justice Methodologies:  Systems of interpersonal communication that meet operational restorative outcomes that help the parties with a stake in a particular offense or dispute to collectively resolve and deal with the aftermath of the offense or dispute and its implications for the future.  Currently we know five restorative justice methodologies:

1.        Reparative Board process (as defined by department principles and best practice standards)

2.        Justice or community conferencing

3.        Community peacemaking circles

4.        Victim/offender mediation

5.        Conflict and dispute resolution processes (501.01)

Restorative Justice Program:  A program with the primary purpose of bringing parties of a crime or dispute together to resolve, collectively, the harm done by the crime/dispute and its aftermath.  Restorative programs use methodologies that are designed to bring about an atmosphere of communication that enhances the chances of achieving the purpose. (501.01)

Restraint Chair: A black-colored chair with small wheels that has been restraint and transport capabilities for an inmate even while they are handcuffed. Use of the restraint chair does not constitute 4-point restraint. This chair is referred to as the AEDEC International Pro-Straint Prisoner Safety Seat by the manufacturer. (413.10)

Restraint Status I: The securing of an inmate with hand cuffs behind the back and with leg irons. (410.06)

Restraints: Restraints include any mechanical device used to control movement of an inmate’s body and/or limbs. Only those restraint devices specifically authorized and disseminated by the Department of Corrections are allowable. (413.09, 413.11) Items to control or restrain movement of offenders, such as handcuffs, flex cuffs, leg irons, waist restraints. (Interim Procedure – Use of Force Field and Threats on Staff)

Restricted Areas:  Close and maximum custody. (415)

Restrictive Housing Status: A designation, which provides for closely regulated management of inmates through placement on Administration Segregation status or by placement on Disciplinary Segregation. (354.05 – 9/07)

Retention:  The act of retaining or holding in possession or use, as in regards to records. (252)

Return to Authority:  The return of probationer, parolee, supervised community sentence offender or furloughee to the hearing authority for determination and disposition concerning an alleged violation.  This can be facilitated through a citation, arrest warrant, emergency arrest, notice of hearing or notice to appear. (413.06)

Review:  An act of inspecting or examining, to go over or examine critically or deliberately.  In terms of the process in Directive 371, this is the periodic checking of offender security/custody/need classification for its appropriateness. (371)

REPC:  Regional Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.  There are three, who are also the CERT commanders for their respective areas. (414.01)

Role-Play:  Simulated activation of the CAN system where calls are not actually sent out from CAN.  These sessions must be scheduled 48 hours in advance. (26.05)

Risk:   (1) possibility of loss or injury; dangerous element or factor, to expose to hazard or danger. (03) (2)

The degree of dangerousness, degree of harm and likelihood of future conduct by an offender on furlough where such conduct is a violation of the criminal laws of this state. (256)

Risk Assessment:  The use of standardized assessment measures combined with professional discretion to describe in qualitative and quantitative terms the level of criminal risk posed by a given offender at a specific point-in-time.  It considers (a) nature, extent, and seriousness of an offender’s behavior, (b) the degree of threat presented to the community and/or victim, (c) the general dangerousness of an offender in different settings, and (d) the appropriate setting, intensity of intervention, and level of supervision needed. (371.01)

Risk Control Contact:  The application of supervision techniques whose primary purpose is to prevent prohibited (?) behavior.  Risk control supervision techniques include alco-sensor, urinalysis, surveillance, inquiry connected to condition compliance and reflect the application of external factors to control offender behavior. (372.05)

Risk Management Caseload: For offenders under community supervision - A caseload of offenders on probation, parole, Supervised Community Sentence, and furlough that, because of severity of offense and risk to re-offend, requires higher supervision and case management services in smaller caseloads. (371.05 – 11/07)

Risk Management Contact:  The application of Risk Control and Risk Reduction techniques, which focus on giving the offender the ability to control criminogenic need areas. (372.05)

Risk Management Programs:  Programs in the risk management service delivery track that offer specific program design and services to offenders referred to them by the court and parole board.  Examples of these programs are:  the probation program for sex offenders, the probation program for domestic abusers and the risk management intermediate sanction. (426.02)

Risk Principle:  The principle of corrections practice which stresses the importance of reserving higher or more intensive levels of correctional service and treatment for those offenders whose assessed risk is higher, and providing lower levels of service and intervention for those offenders whose assessed risk is lower. (371.06)

RRASOR (Rapid Risk Assessment for Sex Offense Recidivism): A 4-item actuarial risk measure used to aid in assessing sexual recidivism risk among convicted adult male sex offenders. Scores fall into one of six levels reflecting the probability of sexual re-offending at 5 and 10-year intervals (Hanson, 1997). (342.01 – 4/07)