WHAT IS ASSESSMENT?

Assessment is the process by which information is obtained about offenders that s needed to make classification decisions about their placement, management and programming while confined, and about the timing and conditions of their release to the community.

- National Institute of Corrections

HOW DOES ASSESSMENT HELP?

» Good assessment & classification practices greatly improve correctional management
» Can make corrections more efficient by
» Reducing costly periods of confinement for low risk offenders
» By ensuring limited resources are allocated to those who need them most

INTAKE SCREENING

» Intake screening to identify security risks and immediate health needs

» Should gather information on static risk factors
» Do not change & include age at first conviction, number and severity of prior convictions, history of abuse and neglect, substance use, education, employment, family, etc.

» Should examine dynamic risk factors, or criminogenic needs
» Anti-social attitudes, values and beliefs
» Substance abuse
» Mental health
» Life skills, etc.

NORMED AND VALIDATED INSTRUMENTS

» All risk assessment instruments (including screening tools) should be normed and validated.
» Norm: Assure it has the same statistical properties for the population to which it is applied as it did for the population on which it was originally developed and tested
» Validation ensures the tool measures what it purports to measure

INTER-RATER RELIABILITY

» Inter-rater reliability should be maintained through training, supervision and monitoring
» Skill-based training: Tests understanding of the language and intent; competence in understanding offender logic or criminal thinking; ability to discern discrepancies in self-report data; interviewing skills
» Quality control through supervision
» Built-in error and logic checking in computerized instruments
» TA available from vendors




ICCA Compendium of Best Practices: Assessment