THE POS SETS OUT A METHOD OF RECORDING DATA BY PROBLEM TITLE WHICH: (1) FACILITATES RETRIEVAL, (2) CAPTURES THE DEVELOPMENT AND FLOW OF INFORMATION OVER TIME, (3) IMPROVES COMMUNICATION, (4) FOCUSES ATTENTION ON PROBLEM FOLLOW-UP, (5) PROMOTES THE SEPARATION OF FACTS FROM OPINIONS, (6) ALLOWS FOR REPEATED ASSESSMENTS, AND (7) PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PROBLEM-TRACKING AND CASE MANAGEMENT REVIEW. IN ADDITION POS REQUIRES DEFINITION OF GOALS FOR EACH PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED AND DEVELOPMENT OF AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR GOAL ATTAINMENT. THE POS DATA BASE IS THE PRODUCT OF A SYSTEMATIC AND UNIFORM SCREENING PROCESS INVOLVING STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENT AND SUBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE MEDICAL, SOCIAL, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STATUS OF OFFENDERS. THE DATA BASE PERMITS THE IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEM AREAS. A PROBLEM LIST IS GENERATED CONTAINING ENTRY DATA AND THE DATA OF RESOLUTION, REACTIVATION OR REDIFINITION. PROGRESS NOTES INCLUDE DATA COLLECTION AND PROBLEM DEFINITION, TREATMENT GOALS AND PLANS, AND PROGRESS TOWARD MEETING GOALS AND/OR NECESSARY MODIFICATION OF THE TREATMENT PLAN. PROGRESS NOTES FOR A HYPOTHETICAL OFFENDER WITH AN ALCOHOL ABUSE PROBLEM ARE PRESENTED TO ILLUSTRATE THE TYPES OF INFORMATION RECORDED, THE RECORDING SCHEMA, AND THE SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS OF THE POS AT VARIOUS STAGES OF OFFENDER PROCESSING. THE VARIOUS STAGES ILLUSTRATED INCLUDE: INITIATION OF PAROLE, SUPERVISION CONTACTS, CONCLUSION OF PAROLE, PRESENTENCING FOLLOWING OFFENDER REINVOLVEMENT WITH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND PROBATION SUPERVISION. EACH ILLUSTRATION INCLUDES ASSESSMENT DATA, INTERVENTION GOALS, AND TREATMENT PLANS, AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO AID THE RECORDER IN DATA COLLECTION AND POS APPLICATIONS. ALTHOUGH THE POS REQUIRES A HIGH INVESTMENT IN THE TIME AND ENERGY COMMONLY REQUIRED FOR DATA COLLECTION AND DOCUMENTATION, IT YIELDS A HIGH RETURN IN THE FORM OF A STANDARDIZED AND INDIVIDUALIZED RECORD UPON WHICH CASE MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT DECISIONS CAN BE BASED. TABLES, FIGURES, AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (JAP)