About Risk & Need Assessment
Agencies that do not conduct empirically validated assessments of the risk and need areas of their offenders are unable to reliably:
-
Judge what level of risk offenders currently pose to the public;
-
Determine which offender needs, when treated, will reduce the likelihood of re-offense;
-
Create case plans and treatment strategies that take into consideration the whole range of offenders’ needs, risk areas, and levels of motivation;
-
Measure mid- and post-treatment improvements—and whether they are significant enough to warrant release from probation or incarceration;
-
Decide which kinds of offenders would not benefit from treatment (to optimize distribution of agency time and monetary resources);
-
Evaluate which programs produced which kinds of treatment effects on which kinds of offenders.
|
|
For these reasons, assessment is the foundation of Evidence-Based Practices in community corrections. Formal methods for assessing risk are categorized as either actuarial or clinical.
Actuarial assessments predict levels of recidivism risk of based on research of the relationships between
re-offense rates and measured “criminogenic needs” including criminal thinking, attitudes, and behavior.
These assessment tools contain both static (unchangeable) items, such as the number of prior convictions
or age of first arrest, and dynamic (changeable) items, such as association with criminal peers, family distress, and substance abuse.
Clinical assessments are the opinions of experienced correctional community professionals about which offenders on their caseloads are most likely to re-offend. When these are not accompanied by actuarial assessments, they are difficult to use for consistent case planning or reports of treatment gains. Clinical “overrides” that go against actuarial risk level classifications or service/programming recommendations are
sometimes useful when offenders’ cases include dynamics not sufficiently addressed in the actuarial tools. But in the majority of instances, actuarial tools are more accurate in identifying risk, criminogenic needs, and appropriate treatment options.
|
Finding an Assessment Tool That Meets Your Needs
To decide which tools might be appropriate for your agency, follow these links for Juvenile Assessments, Adult Assessments, or Agency Staff Assessments.
J-SAT has created and researched a wide variety of assessment tools and practices and trained agencies across the country in tool implementation. If you look through the available assessments and cannot find something that meets your needs, we would be happy to work with you to develop tools that match your specifications. Contact us today to discuss new assessment tool development.
|
