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Chapter 15: Surveillance and Security

DOI:

10.1891/9780826116673.0015

Abstract

In the therapeutic community (TC), surveillance means supervision and management of the orderliness and safety of the physical environment, as well as the health and conduct of the social environment. This chapter describes the main facility-wide surveillance activities of the general inspections (GI), the house run, and urine testing, actions implemented in the management of the community. The GI is a useful community and clinical management activity. The house run is the main system of surveillance in the TC. In terms of management goals, house runs permit early detection of potentially larger problems such as those related to fire, sanitation, and security. However, its fundamental clinical purpose is to assess the status of individuals in terms of self-care, self-management, and their relationship to the community. The main urine test procedures used by most TCs are unannounced random urine screens and incident-related testing procedures.