The Dash is the primary entry point into the POINT Model, offering individuals a structured, strengths-based way to reflect on their well-being and begin engaging the model in their own lives.
The Dash was developed by CCS researchers in collaboration with incarcerated members of the ATP. Its name refers to the dash between birth and death on a tombstone—a symbol of the life lived in between—and reflects a simple but powerful idea: time spent incarcerated should be meaningful and oriented toward growth. The Dash is a structured, strengths-based well-being reflection that invites individuals to consider their lives across the same six interconnected domains of well-being that anchor the POINT Model. Participants respond to 60 statements (10 per domain), assess where they currently see themselves and where they would like to be in each domain, and engage with a set of big-picture questions related to purpose, direction, and overall life satisfaction. Together, these components create a holistic picture of well-being that emphasizes reflection, agency, and possibility rather than deficits or risk.
Within a Better Than Arrival Corrections framework—the idea that people should be better than their arrival to the correctional system, regardless of sentence length or release status—The Dash functions as both an initial orientation and an ongoing point of reflection. Participants complete The Dash at a defined point in time to establish a personal baseline, then revisit it later to reflect on growth, stagnation, or shifting priorities. In this way, The Dash supports reassessment over time while also serving as a roadmap for doing time well. By identifying what matters most to them and where they want to invest their energy, participants are empowered to make intentional choices about programming, relationships, and daily practices, grounding their incarceration experience in purpose, agency, and self-defined progress.