Rejections are rare and usually the offender is referred to the probation officer for an evaluation of reading skills, substance abuse, and attitudinal issues. The probation officer may reject the referral because of attitudinal or reading skill deficiencies. Often however the assessment enlarges the court's ability to judge the offender's intellectual and emotional aptitude for the program. Where, for example, the court may at first see entrenched hostility, the probation officer may find a pliable mask that the program can pry away. Where the court finds the referral appropriate, the case proceeds to contract formation.
Contract formation covers two parts, each of which contains a series of purposeful steps.
First, the court defines the sentence, particularly explaining a partially executed sentence, a series of consecutive suspended sentences, or probation, and how the suspended sentence or probation can be converted through a violation finding into an executed sentence. Second, the court explains that if the offender elects the Changing Lives Through Literature program, the jail or suspended sentence will then be significantly less lengthy. Third, the court describes the program's purposes, format and its expectations of the participant's performance, Fourth, the court explains that if the offender successfully completes the program the probationary term will be reduced by six months. During the explanation the court frequently pauses to ask the offender if he understands. Phase two involves the offender's acceptance of the program.