J-SAT.com - Justice Systems Assessment & Training - International Criminal Justice System Consulting, Tools & Training Services
J-SAT.com - Justice Systems Assessment & Training
877-572-8232 | Login 
Level of Service / Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI)
Adult Assessment Training

The Level of Service / Case Management Inventory is both an assessment tool for adult offenders (16 and older) and a case management tool for justice, forensic, correctional, prevention, and related settings. The LS/CMI offers specific norms (risk levels) for both male and female incarcerated and community offenders.

The main assessment section of the LS/CMI, Section 1:
  • Consists of 43 questions completed from a semi-structured initial interview with the offender,
  • Identifies which of the following eight areas in the offenders’ backgrounds and current situations put them at greatest risk of reoffense:
  • Criminal History
  • Leisure / Recreation
  • Alcohol / Drug Problems
  • Education / Employment
  • Companions
  • Pro-Criminal Attitude / Orientation
  • Family / Marital
  • Antisocial Pattern
Sections 2-5 identify additional risk factors within the following areas:

  • Personal Problems
  • Social, Health, and
  • Responsivity Considerations
  • Perpetration History
  • Mental Health
  • Pro-Criminal Attitude / Orientation
  • Incarceration History
  • Concerns
Sections 6-7 provide a summary of risks and needs, allowing for clinical overrides of assessment recommendations based on atypical offender situations. Finally, Section 8 provides tools for program and placement decisions for institutional and community offenders, indicating which areas, when treated are most likely to reduce offenders’ risk levels overall.

The LS/CMI was developed by Andrews, Bonta, and Wormith in 2004. It has been validated on various offender populations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Singapore.

Workshop Objectives & Structure

  1. Alternating Instruction and Practice

    During this three-day training, participants receive alternating modules of instruction and practice, ensuring that they can:
    • Administer, score, and interpret the LS/CMI instrument,
    • Use a systematic quality assurance protocol for continuous improvement in use of the LS/CMI,
    • Demonstrate core active listening skills (open questions, reflections, affirmations, and summaries) that encourage youths to disclose interview material necessary for accurate risk/needs assessment,
    • Understand the Evidence-Based Principles that support actuarial risk/needs assessment—an integral part of effective case planning.

    Success in achieving the above objectives will be measured by:
    • Pre- and post-tests for measuring immediate retention,
    • Successive timed skill rehearsals,
    • Co-participant ratings of clinical skills,
    • Trainer observation of participants conducting interviews.

  2. Mid-Training Normative Feedback and Coaching

    J-SAT uses a copyrighted software application to give participants immediate objective feedback on their assessment completion and active listening skills performance. Graphed profiles show individual participant performance as compared with the class average, targeting specific areas of improvement. Workshop facilitators explain individual performance results to the participants and coach participants between sessions for improvement on later practice sessions.

  3. Post-Training Feedback and Coaching

    To assure inter-rater reliability among risk-assessment training participants, certified J-SAT staff critique audio-taped interviews submitted by course graduates. Graduates receive a comprehensive report providing feedback and coaching on active listening skills, scoring accuracy, and fidelity to all scoring and time-based rules.

In addition, specified contact persons in your agency will receive a post-training report including:
  • Graphs highlighting training group strength and growth areas in pre- and post-test knowledge gains and post-training skill implementation,
  • Written suggestions about on-going participant coaching, and
  • Lists of organizational development issues raised during training that will be key to ongoing implementation of the LS/CMI and active listening skills.
Who Should Attend?
  1. Front line community corrections service professionals responsible for conducting offender intake assessments and supervising offenders,

  2. In-house treatment program personnel,

  3. Supervisors, managers, and QA staff who will supervise front line staff’s application of LS/CMI and active listening skills.

Alternatively, J-SAT can provide a one-day overview of the LS/CMI for supervisors who are unable to attend the full three-day event or who are uncertain about the agency’s commitment to using the LS/CMI. The one-day overview session is compressed into a balanced amount of didactic presentation and experiential how-to.

Options for Ensuring Skill Retention

Without reinforcement, new skills often decline. Ask Us about the following services that can help your staff retain and use what they have learned:
  • A one-day "booster session" at 6-months,
  • A second round of tape critiques, giving your staff written feedback,
  • Training of LS/CMI Trainers—allows your staff to be able to provide "boosters" and follow-up trainings in-house. This option includes the course described above, but then adds on trainer trainings for participants who show trainer potential.
  • Assessment Interview Critiquer Training allows your staff to conduct critiques on assessment interviews to ensure that line-staff are using the LS/CMI and active listening skills in their daily tasks.
Setting Up a Training

Once you Contact Us to discuss the specifics of the training and set dates, our training coordinator will walk you through the entire process, making sure that you have all the information you need to provide for a smooth, effective training experience. The following information may be helpful as you decide how to proceed:

Training Location: Participant / Trainer Ratio:
  • Due to the number of skills rehearsals with individual feedback, J-SAT recommends one facilitator for every 20 participants.

   Press - Admin © 2006 J-SAT All Rights Reserved