THE PURPOSE OF THE CENTER IS TO PROVIDE DIAGNOSTIC EVALUATIONS FOR DECISIONMAKING BY JUDGES, THE PAROLE BOARD, INSTITUTIONAL TREATMENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS, AND PROBATION AND PAROLE OFFICERS. THESE EVALUATIONS ARE PERFORMED BY SOCIAL WORKERS AND PSYCHOLOGISTS ATTACHED TO THE CENTER. THE DESIGN SELECTED FOR EVALUATING THE CENTER'S EFFECTIVENESS INCLUDED BOTH QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE COMPONENTS. THE FORMER WERE USED IN ANALYZING CASE FLOW PATTERNS, FINANCIAL DATA, AND OTHER SECONDARY DATA SOURCES, WHILE QUALITATIVE TECHNIQUES CONCENTRATED ON INTERVIEWS WITH CENTER PERSONNEL, INMATES, JUDGES, PAROLE BOARD MEMBERS, CORRECTIONAL PERSONNEL, AND OTHERS WITH A KNOWLEDGE OF THE CENTER. MOST OF THE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES IN PUERTO RICO WERE VISITED. THE CONSENSUS OF THE ASSESSMENT TEAM WAS THAT THE CENTER HAS NOT BEEN OPERATING EFFECTIVELY. AMONG ITS MOST SERIOUS PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN PERSONNEL TURNOVER, POOR INTERAGENCY COMMUNICATION, AND LACK OF AGREEMENT ABOUT THE CONTENTS AND UTILITY OF ITS REPORTS. MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE TEAM WERE THAT LENGTHY DELAY IN RETURNING REPORTS TO REFERRAL SOURCES HAVE RESULTED IN A BACKLOG OF PAROLE HEARINGS, CLASSIFICATION PROBLEMS IN INSTITUTIONS, AND DAMAGE TO THE CREDIBILITY OF ALL THE CENTER'S REPORTS; FREQUENT TURNOVER IN CENTER DIRECTORSHIPS HAD CAUSED INCONSISTENT ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES, CASE BACKLOGS, AND POOR STAFF MORALE; CENTER INTAKE PROCEDURES HAVE BEEN INFORMAL AND AD HOC; THERE IS POOR COORDINATION BETWEEN THE CENTER AND ITS REFERRAL SOURCES; SOCIAL WORKERS ARE ADEQUATELY TRAINED, BUT ARE RELUCTANT TO PROVIDE DIRECT COUNSELING SERVICES; THE CENTER'S EVALUATIONS ARE NOT USED BY PROBATION OFFICERS; AND COST PER COMPLETED CASE HAS REMAINED FAIRLY CONSTANT OVER THE 2 AND 1/2-YEAR EVALUATION PERIOD. MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE TEAM ARE: (1) THE INTAKE OF NEW CASES SHOULD BE CLOSED ANY TIME A BACKLOG IS BEGINNING; (2) CENTER DIRECTORS SHOULD BE SELECTED ON THE BASIS OF ADMINISTRATIVE CAPABILITIES; (3) STAFFING SHOULD BE MADE ON THE BASIS OF PERMANENT POSITIONS; (4) FORMALIZED INTAKE PROCEDURES SHOULD BE DEVELOPED; AND (5) SOCIAL PENAL WORKERS SHOULD DISCONTINUE LABELING OF DRUG OFFENDERS UNTIL A DRUG CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM IS DEVELOPED. (VDA)