The purpose of the Centralized Assessment and Screening Team (CAST) is to provide a single, one-stop assessment unit for all HCCSCD clients to receive an initial assessment and then to assess clients as specific issues arise and additional information is necessary to make a decision for appropriate recommendations regarding supervision and treatment interventions.
The CAST assessor uses the Texas Risk Assessment System (TRAS) assessment results, the current offense, previous criminal history, in-person interviews, as well as other collateral sources of information to best identify each client’s risk, needs, and responsivity factors and provide caseload and intervention recommendations.
These recommendations are meant to assist the Courts as well as provide a foundation for which the HCCSCD supervision officer can build their client’s supervision case plan. The overall mission of the CAST and HCCSCD is to accurately identify criminogenic needs and reduce barriers for clients so they can maintain these changes beyond their placement on supervision and become productive citizens.