Serious Mental Illness In The BOP
The BOP provides Medical and Mental Healthcare (MH), through their 4 CARE LEVELS.
The BOP’s Psychology Data System (Page 2) Is Filled Out For All MH Levels.
The Designation and Sentence Computation Center places inmates into Care Levels 1 and 2
CARE LEVEL 1 MH
- No Significant Need.
- No history of serious functional impairment due to mental illness
- No need for regular mental health visits
- No hospitalization in the last 5 years
- Defendant on their own has sought help
- Controlled with 2 psychotropic meds (Not MH I if taking antipsychotic)
- Psychotropic medications:
- anti-anxiety agents
- mood stabilizers
- stimulants
- Antipsychotic medicines,
- delusions (false, fixed beliefs) or
- hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that are not really there).
- schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or
- very severe depression (also known as “psychotic depression”).
- Clinical visits q 6 mo
CARE LEVEL 2 MH
- He/she has a mental illness requiring:
- Routine Ongoing Outpatient visits
- Medication controlled,
- Medical visits q 1-6 months
- Group Therapy, interventions every other week
- Crisis Oriented, BRIEF MH Care, g., placement on suicide watch
- Psychiatric Hospitalizations within the last 5 yrs
- On Antipsychotic or 2 psychotropic meds
CARE LEVEL III & IV designation is made by the BOP’s Office of Medical Designations and Transportation
CARE LEVEL 3 MH
- Not In-patient
- Enhanced Outpatient (Requires outpatient contacts with a prescribing doc > than monthly [at least weekly]); or
- Housed in A Residential Treatment Program.
- 2+ Psychiatric Hospitalizations within the last 3 yrs
- 3+ anti-psychotic meds [Or > 5 meds for multiple Dx]
If you have a client with an MH CARE LEVEL of III, and a Medical CARE LEVEL of II,
The MH placement takes precedence.
Care Level 4 MH
- Inpatient
- gravely disabled and
- cannot function in the general population, as in CARE3-MH
- medical care 24/7/365
- Tx plan reviewed every 90 days