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Risk & Resiliency Check-Up (RRC)
Juvenile Assessment Training

The Risk and Resiliency Check-Up assessment and screening tool for juvenile offenders:
  • Consists of 60 questions completed from a semi-structured interview with the youth,
  • Identifies which of the following six areas in youths’ backgrounds and current
    situations put them at greatest risk of reoffense:

    • Delinquency
    • Education
    • Family
    • Peers
    • Substance Use
    • Individual
  • Indicates which aspects of youths’ current situations protect them from recidivism and should be reinforced,
  • Helps practitioners select the areas of the youth’s situation that, when treated, are most likely to lower youth’s risk levels,
  • Allows agencies to establish cut-off points for levels of risk that determine whether and which kind of services youths should receive,
  • Has been validated by RAND Corporation as a reliable predictor of rearrest for juveniles of different genders and ethnicities,
  • Can be used in paper formats or online through Assessments.com.
J-SAT created this tool in 1998 with the help of San Diego County Probation. It has gone through several revisions based on information from validation studies done in 2002 and the Surgeon General’s 2001 Report on Youth Violence.

Currently, J-SAT is in the process of creating a software application that uses RRC risk assessment classifications to help officers identify which treatment modalities would best serve offenders’ needs, based on Evidence-Based Principles of offender treatment matching. Learn more about the RRC Case Planning Software.

 Workshop Objectives & Structure

  1. Alternating Instruction and Practice

    During the three-day training, participants receive alternating modules of instruction and practice, ensuring that they can:
    • Administer, score, and interpret the RRC instrument,
    • Use a systematic quality assurance protocol for continuous improvement in use of the RRC,
    • 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 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 RRC 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 RRC and active listening skills.
Alternatively, J-SAT can provide a one-day overview of the RRC for supervisors who are unable to attend the full three-day event or who are uncertain about the agency’s commitment to the RRC. 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 RRC 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 RRC 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.
Information We Will Need from You
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