Pre-employment Screening

While all work is stressful, working in public safety (police and fire) places individuals in situations that carry a unique type of stress. Intervening with tragic deaths, injuries, domestic violence, homicides, criminal activities along with the risk of personal injury are "part of the job." Therefore, most departments require a pre-employment screening to determine if the candidate is psychologically fit for this type of career. While it is described as a "screening," the individual completes a battery of psychological instruments, a psycho-social questionnaire and then a follow up interview. A summary report is then sent to the hiring authority regarding the strengths and limitations of the candidate.

Fitness For Duty Evaluation (FFD)

There are times when an employee may behave in a manner that requires him/her to be place on leave pending an investigation of the incident. As part of this investigation, the organization may require that the individual participate in an FFD.

An FFD involves:
• Completion of a battery of psychological tests;
• Consultation with collateral resources (supervisors, HR, family, counselors, unions, lawyers, etc)
• In-depth, face to face meeting(s) with the individual; and
  
• A comprehensive report written in "non-psychologese" with specific recommendations regarding return to work.

Comprehensive Psychological Evaluation

Similar to the FFD, an individual may require a comprehensive evaluation as part of a legal/criminal involvement. This evaluation is the same as the FFD, but not for return to work, but rather to facilitate the legal/criminal intervention.