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Guidelines 585-1: Individual Substance Use Framework

To facilitate reading in French, the masculine form is used without prejudice to gender, given the binary nature of the French language.

Number: 585-1
In effect: 2026-03-16

Authorities

Purpose

Application

Applies to staff and contractors involved in the management of inmates who use substances, excluding inmates in Community Correctional Centres.

On this page

Responsibilities

  1. The Deputy Warden:
    1. promotes and facilitates collaboration between Interventions, Operations, Health Services, and other relevant sectors and individuals, as needed, in responding to individual substance use
    2. ensures a mechanism is in place to effectively generate and exchange information to assist in determining whether an inmate’s substance-related event is limited to individual substance use or whether it is related to the introduction, trafficking, financing, or distribution of contraband, as outlined in the Individual Substance Use Event Guidance Document and the Contraband Interdiction and Management Framework, and
    3. oversees interventions and operational activities regarding the implementation of the Individual Substance Use Framework, including addressing issues and communicating best practices and expectations.
  2. The Manager, Health Care and Rehabilitation Programs and Services, or delegate, ensures:
    1. Health Services responds to individual substance use referrals, respecting the vision, guiding principles and foundational elements outlined in Annex B of CD 585: National Drugs and Substances Strategy
    2. health services, including prevention, treatment, support and harm reduction, are available to respond to the substance use needs of inmates, and
    3. a list of available health services for inmates with substance use needs is maintained and accessible to inmates.
  3. The Assistant Warden, Interventions, ensures:
    1. correctional interventions addressing individual substance use-related needs (for example, case management, correctional programs, Indigenous services, chaplaincy, Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous) are made available to inmates, and
    2. referrals to correctional programs adhere to CD 726: Correctional Programs and Guidelines (GL) 726‑2: National Correctional Program Referral Guidelines.
  4. The Assistant Warden, Operations:
    1. provides support and guidance to correctional staff to ensure the application of dynamic security practices, in accordance with CD 566: Framework for the Creation of Safe and Effective Correctional Environments, incorporates the foundational elements described in CD 585: National Drugs and Substances Strategy, and
    2. ensures all relevant and available information is considered throughout the disciplinary process, including the inmate’s need for interventions and services, their substance use history and their current engagement with substance use-related services.
  5. The Manager, Health Care and Rehabilitation Programs and Services, the Assistant Warden, Interventions, and the Assistant Warden, Operations, ensure:
    1. education, guidance, and support regarding individual substance use are provided to frontline staff
    2. all follow-up actions resulting from interdisciplinary case conferences are completed, and
    3. timely sharing of relevant information between Health Services, the Case Management Team, and Operations is carried out in accordance with the associated institutional Standing Order.
  6. Health care professionals, including those engaged under contract:
    1. provide health services to inmates consistent with relevant provincial and federal legislation, the provincial regulatory body’s professional practice standards, as well as CSC policies and practice directives
    2. ensure health services are sensitive to the identified needs of Indigenous inmates. To the extent possible and with the inmate’s consent, health care professionals providing services to Indigenous inmates consult with Elders or Spiritual Advisors to gain an Indigenous perspective on the impact of the individual’s Indigenous social history in order to deliver or facilitate access to culturally safe and relevant health services, and
    3. ensure health services are sensitive to the identified needs of Black and other racialized, marginalized, women and gender diverse inmates.
  7. The Parole Officer:
    1. assesses, monitors, and documents the inmate’s progress against their Correctional Plan related to individual substance use, pursuant to CD 710-1: Progress Against the Correctional Plan
    2. refers the inmate to correctional programs in accordance with GL 726-2: National Correctional Program Referral Guidelines, and to other interventions targeting substance use that they deem necessary
    3. ensures referrals and services are culturally appropriate and take into account the inmate’s Indigenous social history, and
    4. as needed, consults with the Elder or Spiritual Advisor with respect to the impacts of Indigenous social history on substance use.
  8. The Correctional Officer II or the Primary Worker monitors and discusses any substance use behaviours or incidents with the inmate, encourages the inmate to participate in substance use treatment, support, and harm reduction services and to adhere to their Correctional Plan objectives, as well as documents all relevant information in a Structured Casework Record pursuant to Annex B of CD 710‑1: Progress Against the Correctional Plan.
  9. All staff and contractors, in accordance with CD 800: Health Services:
    1. advise inmates of the option to self-refer to Health Services for assessment of their substance use and discussion regarding available treatment, support, and harm reduction options, as appropriate
    2. inform a health care professional of the condition of any inmate who appears to have a physical or mental health concern, including individual substance use, whether or not the inmate identifies a health concern
    3. relay an inmate’s request for health services to a health care professional in a timely manner, and
    4. respond to any medical emergencies in accordance with GL 800-4: Response to Medical Emergencies.

Procedures

Health Services

  1. Health Services provides substance use prevention, treatment, support, and harm reduction health services.
  2. When on site, health care professionals respond to medical emergencies (for example, drug overdose) and non-emergency issues, consistent with relevant professional practice standards, GL 800-4: Response to Medical Emergencies, and Health Services practice directives.
  3. Health Services does not have any role or involvement in the imposition of disciplinary sanctions or other measures related to inmate discipline.
  4. Health Services shares personal health information in accordance with the Guidelines for Sharing Personal Health Information.

At admission and transfer

  1. A health care professional completes and documents, in the Electronic Medical Record, an assessment of substance use disorder at intake, and reassesses substance use needs, by file review or patient assessment, at temporary detention and at transfer.
  2. Following the assessment, the health care professional provides the inmate with information and education regarding available interventions, treatments, support, and harm reduction services and takes clinically appropriate action to ensure continuity of care.

Following an individual substance use event

  1. A staff member witnessing an individual substance use event , as elaborated in the Individual Substance Use Event Guidance Document:
    1. generally submits the Referral for Health Services form (CSC/SCC 4000-01e) as soon as practicable for the inmate to discuss the substance use treatments, support, and harm reduction services available to them
    2. ensures the form is shared with the Parole Officer, so they are aware of the referral
    3. advises the inmate of the referral to Health Services
    4. attempts to engage the inmate in informal resolution in accordance with CD 580: Discipline of Inmates, and
    5. completes an Electronic Statement Observation Report detailing the event and the actions taken by the staff member.
  2. If informal resolution is unsuccessful, the witnessing staff member must initiate the formal disciplinary process in accordance with CD 580: Discipline of Inmates .
  3. Correctional Managers, or persons issuing a charge consult Health Services to determine if the inmate is engaging in health services related to substance use.

Following the referral to Health Services for the individual substance use event

  1. Health Services and the Parole Officer have 30 business days to provide information on the inmate’s level of engagement related to identified substance use needs to the Institutional Head or delegate for decision-making purposes with respect to whether or not to lay a charge.
  2. Health Services, within 30 business days of receiving the referral:
    1. meets with the inmate and informs them that information on their engagement in health‑related substance use treatment and support services is shared with the Parole Officer and the Institutional Head or delegate, for decision-making purposes (refer to the Individual Substance Use Event Guidance Document)
    2. with the inmate’s consent, conducts a health screening to assess their substance use-related health needs
    3. refers the inmate to the appropriate health services for their substance use needs
    4. documents need-to-know information regarding the inmate’s engagement in health services on the Information Sharing for Individual Substance Use Event form (CSC/SCC 1713e), to be shared with the Parole Officer and the Institutional Head or delegate responsible for laying charges, and
    5. obtains consent from the inmate if additional medical information is requested beyond what is specified on the Information Sharing for Individual Substance Use Event form (CSC/SCC 1713e).
  3. The Parole Officer, within 30 business days of being notified of the referral to Health Services:
    1. meets with the inmate and considers the substance use event and their needs to determine if changes to Correctional Plan objectives, referrals, or a risk assessment, including a security classification review, are required
    2. ensures the Correctional Plan Update or the initial Correctional Plan includes details on the inmate’s substance use-related needs and engagement with health services and other interventions, and
    3. documents information regarding the inmate’s engagement in any non-health services interventions on the Information Sharing for Individual Substance Use Event form (CSC/SCC 1713e), which will be shared with Health Services and the Institutional Head or delegate responsible for laying charges.
  4. Within 5 business days of receiving the Information Sharing for Individual Substance Use Event form (CSC/SCC 1713e) from Health Services and the Parole Officer, the Institutional Head or delegate considers the information to determine whether or not to lay a charge related to the individual substance use event. If a charge is not laid, the Institutional Head or delegate completes an Electronic Statement Observation Report to indicate informal resolution was successful.

Interdisciplinary case conference

  1. At any time, a case conference may be convened as a part of a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to discuss the inmate’s engagement and progress concerning substance use issues and related interventions. Examples include:
    1. multiple individual substance use events have occurred
    2. current health or other interventions have not been sufficiently effective, and
    3. substance use is identified as a contributing factor to the inmate’s risk of reoffending, requiring targeted interventions to address these issues as part of pre-release planning.
  2. The inmate is invited to participate in all interdisciplinary case conferences.
  3. The Parole Officer, in consultation with the members of the interdisciplinary team, documents the results of the interdisciplinary case conference in a Casework Record.
  4. Subsequent decisions concerning substance use issues and related interventions are documented by each member of the interdisciplinary team, in accordance with their respective documentation requirements and standards.

Enquiries

  1. Strategic Policy Division
    National Headquarters
    Email: NHQ.Policy-Politiques.AC@csc-scc.gc.ca

Assistant Commissioner,
Health Services

Marie Doyle

Assistant Commissioner,
Correctional Operations and Programs

Jay Pyke

Annex A: Cross-references and definitions

Cross-references

Definitions

Harm reduction
A policy, a program or a measure aimed at reducing the negative health, social or economic consequences of harmful behaviours, such as injection drug use and unsafe sex. Harm reduction items, such as condoms and bleach, reduce the risk of disease transmission and infection.
Individual substance use
The personal consumption of a selected substance, including controlled or illicit substances.
Individual substance use event
The seizure of a substance for individual use, a positive urinalysis result (or a refusal to submit to urinalysis), when an inmate is believed to be in an altered level of consciousness due to substance use, a known or suspected substance use or overdose, the non‑medical use of a substance, etc.
Interdisciplinary approach
A group of staff from diverse fields who work in a coordinated fashion toward a common goal.
Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous
Global community-based organizations whose service efforts focus on helping addicts in their recovery in their own language and culture.
National drugs and substances strategy
CSC’s drug policy framework, that incorporates the renewed elements of the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy, to promote the health and safety of CSC staff, inmates, visitors, and the public by preventing and minimizing harms related to substance use, including a focused effort on mitigation strategies for reducing the introduction, trafficking, financing, and distribution of contraband within CSC facilities.
Referral
The process of directing or recommending an individual to a specific service, program or professional for assisstance or support. Referrals must take into account the offender’s individual circumstances, including the event(s) related to their substance use, while considering culturally appropriate services.
Substance use disorder
A treatable medical condition that affects the brain and involves compulsive and continuous substance use despite negative impacts to the person, their family, friends, and others.

Page details

2026-03-16