Utah DHS - Best Practices in the Evaluation of Competence to Stand Trial

Custom training curriculum for Utah Department of Human Services
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20 Hours | 20 CEs

One of the primary foundations of criminal law is that all defendants have a right to a fair trial. Towards this end, upwards of 60,000 evaluations of competency to stand trial are conducted annually in the USA. Research has shown that the opinion of the evaluator in these evaluations is accepted by the courts upwards of 95% of the time. Thus, it is imperative that these evaluations be conducted using best practices. Two important sources have recently been recognized as setting the foundation for best practices in competency evaluation. This training program provides a strong foundation for Utah evaluators who conduct adjudicative competency evaluations of adults. This training was developed for the Utah Department of Human Services.  

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course you will be able to:

  • Describe important legal cases that deal with issues relevant to the interpretation adjudicative competence standards and statutes

  • Describe the developments in the conceptualization of the Dusky Standard

  • Describe the research on evaluations of adjudicative competence

  • Describe theoretical issues in competency evaluation

  • Describe the most recent clinical guidance on competency evaluation

  • Describe the administration procedures for various competency assessment instruments

  • Describe the psychometric properties of CAIs

  • Describe the process for case and opinion formulation

  • Describe the process of communicating opinions regarding criminal competence

  • Describe required, appropriate, and inappropriate report contents

  • Intended Audience

    This self-paced course is intended for competency evaluators working for Utah's Department of Human Services.

  • Experience Level

    This self-paced course is appropriate for beginner, intermediate, and advanced level practitioners.

  • CE / CPD Credit

    APA, ASWB, CPA, NBCC Click here for state and other regional board approvals.

Curriculum

    1. Overview

    1. Introduction

    2. Training Manual

    3. Resource: AAPL CST Evaluation Guidelines

    4. Resource: IFI Training Manual

    5. Resource: Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology (SGFP)

    6. Resource: Zapf & Roesch (2012) Handbook for Lawyers

    7. Resource: Pirelli, Gottdiener, & Zapf (2011) CST Meta-Analysis

    1. Foundational Aspects of Forensic Mental Health Assessment

    2. Lesson Quiz

    1. The Legal Context

    2. Lesson Quiz

    1. Forensic Mental Health Concepts

    2. Lesson Quiz

    1. Empirical Foundations

    2. Lesson Quiz

About this course

  • Free
  • 34 lessons
  • 12.5 hours of video content

Presented By

Dr. Randy Otto & Dr. Patricia Zapf

Vice President, Division of Innovation, Palo Alto University Patricia A. Zapf, PhD

Patricia A. Zapf, Ph.D. is Vice President for Continuing & Professional Studies at Palo Alto University (PAU). Prior to coming to PAU she was a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York (CUNY) for 16 years, during which time she was instrumental in the development of a new doctoral program in clinical psychology with an emphasis in forensic psychology and served as the program’s first Director of Clinical Training. Prior to her time at CUNY, she was on the psychology and law faculty at the University of Alabama. In 2009, Dr. Zapf founded CONCEPT Professional Training with the mission of elevating the level of practice in psychology and related professions.

Professor and Chief of the Division of Forensic Behavioral Sciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine Randy Otto, PhD, ABPP

Randy K. Otto, PhD, MLS, joined the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in May 2025, where he serves as Professor and Chief of the Division of Forensic Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Otto was a member of the faculty at the University of South Florida between 1989 and 2022, and Nova Southeastern University between 2022 and 2025. Dr. Otto, licensed to practice psychology in New Mexico and Florida, is board certified in clinical psychology and forensic psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Rochester, and masters and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from Florida State University. After serving as a clinical psychology intern at the Medical University of South Carolina, he completed a two year, NIMH-funded fellowship in the College of Law and Department of Psychology at the University of Nebraska, where he was awarded a master’s degree in legal studies. Dr. Otto’s research, writing, and practice is devoted to matters of forensic psychological assessment. In press is the fifth edition of Psychological Evaluations for the Courts: A Handbook for Mental Health Professionals and Lawyers, which he co-authored with co-authors Chris Slobogin, John Petrila, and Lois Oberlander. With Irv Weiner, he edited the fourth edition of the Handbook of Forensic Psychology, and he is also lead author of books devoted to forensic practice ethics and forensic report writing and testimony.

CE Sponsorship Information

Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. PaloAlto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies(CONCEPT) is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies(CONCEPT), SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Boardfor Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers#SW-0356 and the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental HealthPractitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental healthcounselors. #MHC-0073. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT)has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT ProfessionalTraining, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. CONCEPT Professional Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits.