The Correctional Assessment and Intervention System™ (or CAIS, used for adults) and the Juvenile Assessment and Intervention System™ (JAIS) were designed to provide criminal justice personnel with integrated assessment tools which identify evidence-based supervision strategies that emphasize public safety, rehabilitation, accountability, and criminogenic needs. CAIS™ and JAIS™ employ a single semi-structured interview to derive assessments of risk, strengths, and needs. The results of the interview are scored by an automated response system which produces an individualized case plan including risk, needs, and supervision strategy classifications, as well as recommendations for evidence-based programs and services. CAIS and JAIS include periodic reassessment components to automatically update individual case plans on a continuous basis. A reporting package provides real-time aggregate data reports for client monitoring, agency management and budgeting, and outcome measurement. The web-based system requires no agency investment in hardware or software, MIS redesign, or maintenance. Validity and reliability have been successfully demonstrated through multiple studies. CAIS and JAIS incorporate gender-responsive assessments and interventions to address the unique risk and needs areas of girls and women. Comprehensive training and technical assistance packages are offered.

The Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS) system is a statistically based risk and needs assessment specifically designed to assess key risk and needs factors in adult and youth correctional populations and to provide decision-support for justice professionals who must make decisions regarding the placement, supervision, and case-management of individuals in community supervision and correctional institution settings. It achieves this by providing valid measurement and succinct organization of research supported risk/need dimensions. COMPAS scores each individual based on three different types of risk (violence, recidivism, and failure to appear in court) and 19 different criminogenic needs. The software also includes case planning, outcomes measurement, and reports generation modules. The internal Research Division (staffed by five PhDs) and IT Division provide the research and technical support to norm the assessment for the local population and configure the software to local policy and procedure. The time required to administer each battery of tests varies, and can be adapted to the needs of the jurisdiction. A peer reviewed validation study of the COMPAS has been accepted by Criminal Justice and Behavior for publication in the June 2009 edition. An additional independent validation of the COMPAS in a California study by Zhang and Farabee (2007) indicated predictive accuracies comparable to other major instruments.

The Diagnostic Interview Schedule IV (DIS-IV) is a structured interview for a psychiatric diagnosis according to DSM-IV criteria. DIS-IV assesses a lifetime history of symptoms and conditions, from childhood to the present. This instrument may be used by corrections staff to identify the mental health needs of incarcerated individuals and refer them to appropriate treatment programs. Since it covers all necessary symptoms, it is self-contained and does not require a follow-up examination to make diagnoses. Its validity has been established with diagnoses of mania, psychosis, and posttraumatic stress, but has been found to overestimate depression among homeless individuals. It has also been validated with jail populations. The interview takes between 60-90 minutes to complete and can be administered by trained corrections personnel. Spanish and English versions are available.

The General Statistical Index of Recidivism (GSIR) is an assessment tool that reviews an individual’s criminal record for 15 risk related items. The 15 items are a combination of demographic characteristics and criminal history which are scored and summed to provide five probabilities of risk for recidivism ranging from poor to very good. A report on its use among day parolees in Canada found that the instrument valid for predicting outcomes among parolees, but the instrument does not predict violent or sexual recidivism.

The Level of Services Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) is a 54 item rating scale that measures static factors related to an individual’s risk of committing a new crime and identifies dynamic areas of risk and need that may be addressed through programming. Areas evaluated by the LSI-R include criminal history, leisure / recreation, education / employment, associates, finances, substance abuse, family / marital status, emotional / personal well-being, housing, and attitude. The LSI-R may be administered at intake to aid in security classification and programming decisions. The instrument is also commonly used to determine and modify levels of community supervision. Research on the validity of the LSI-R indicates that certain items and sub-scales are more closely correlated with recidivism than others, in part because inter-rater reliability can be difficult to achieve on many of its items. Among the sub-scales, one study found that the general risk/need score correlated highly with general recidivism. It also predicted recidivism among subgroups of people convicted of sexual offenses, domestic violence, and people with mental health problems. The specific risk/need scale produced a slightly higher correlation with violent recidivism. The LSI-R requires 30-45 minutes to complete.

The Level of Services Inventory-Revised: Screening Version (LSI-R: SV) consists of eight of the 54 items contained in the full Level of Services Inventory-Revised (LSI-R). The eight items cover four risk factors: criminal history, criminal attitudes, criminal associates, and antisocial personality patterns. It also samples the domains of employment, family relationships, and substance abuse. The LSI-R: SV was designed to provide a brief and inexpensive means to establish whether the full LSI-R should be administered, and is not intended as a stand-alone assessment instrument. It takes about 10-15 minutes to complete.

The Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool-Revised (MnSOST-R) is currently being used by the Minnesota Department of Corrections as an assessment tool to predict the risk of arrest for a new sexual offense among individuals convicted for rape and intra-familial child molestation. The tool comprises 12 historical variables (such as number and type of sexual offenses), and 4 institutional variables (including disciplinary history, participation in drug treatment, participation in sex offender treatment, and age at release). The test produces scores that are divided into six levels of risk. In a comparative study of five sex offender risk assessments, the MnSOST-R predicted general recidivism but did not significantly predict serious or sexual recidivism. This could have been due to its inclusion of institutional factors, or the complexity of its use. The assessment requires trained staff to administer, and can be used at the time of release from a correctional facility or the beginning of a period of community supervision.

The Risk Management System (RMS) is a computerized tool for evaluating recidivism risk and programmatic needs. The system uses modeling software to generate reports that compare an individual’s scores in a number of domains with that of the general population. Corrections, community corrections, treatment program, and judicial personnel can use these reports to inform treatment, programming, and supervision decisions. By using web-based software, RMS enables agencies seeking advanced risk assessment to receive reports on individuals’ risks and needs while being able to continue to use their existing data management systems.

The Rapid Risk Assessment for Sexual Offense Recidivism (RRASOR) is a brief 4-item actuarial instrument to predict sexual recidivism among males who have been convicted of at least one sexual offense. This instrument focuses on measuring static factors and relies on information obtained in administrative files. The predictor variables that the instrument assesses are extrafamilial victims, male victims, prior sexual offenses, and age of release. Test scores range from 0-6. The instrument’s validity in predicting sexual recidivism has been established by research, but it does not predict nonviolent or general recidivism as well as other instruments. It must be administered by trained corrections staff.

The Self Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) is a multidimensional, self-administered questionnaire designed to predict violent and nonviolent recidivism. This 72 item tool measures criminogenic risk / need and generates a total score and seven subscale scores. The subscales measure Criminal Tendencies, Antisocial Personality Problems, Conduct Problems, Criminal History, Alcohol/Drug Abuse, Antisocial Associates, and Anger. The SAQ can be used by parole officers, case managers, and corrections officers in determining correctional programming and institutional security levels. Researchers report that the instrument has high reliability and validity with male prisoners. The instrument can be administered by corrections staff and takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. It short administration time makes it appropriate for use in jail settings.

The Salient Factor Score (SFS) is a device that assesses an individual’s risk of violating parole if he or she is released to community supervision. It was developed for the United States Parole Commission and is a component of the Commission’s guidelines for making parole release decisions. The Salient Factor Score comprises six criminal history items which are added together to produce a score of 0-10 points. A higher score indicates that an individual is less likely to violate parole. The Salient Factor Score provides a guideline for the amount of time an individual should serve before being released to community supervision.

The Statistical Index of Recidivism (SIR) is an assessment tool that reviews an individual’s criminal record with 15 risk related items. The 15 items are a combination of demographic characteristics and criminal history which are scored and summed to provide five probabilities of risk for recidivism ranging from poor to very good. The instrument does not predict recidivism for sexual or violent offenses.

The Sex Offender Needs Assessment Rating (SONAR) is an instrument that measures change in risk level for individuals convicted of sex offenses. SONAR measures five dynamic variables that change slowly over time: intimacy deficits; negative social influences; tolerant attitudes toward sexual offending; self-regulation of sexual urges; and general self-regulation. It also measures four dynamic risk factors that can change quickly: substance abuse; negative mood; anger; and opportunities for access to victims. The tool requires a community supervision personnel to track these factors over time to identify changes in risk level and make treatment and supervision decisions based on these findings. Researchers report that the tool improves upon other formal risk assessments (e.g., the VRAG), but that the tool has only moderate validity and reliability on its own.

The Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide (SORAG) is an actuarial tool designed to predict sexual recidivism among males convicted of sex offenses. It is a modified version of the VRAG, and is focused on measuring 14 static risk factors. The tool enables corrections personnel to calculate the probability that a convicted individual will commit a new offense (including sex offenses) within a specific period of time in which the person under correctional supervision has community access. Research has shown that the SORAG predicts sexual recidivism at a significantly higher rate than other sexual risk assessment tools, and has also been shown to predict violent recidivism. It is a static tool and cannot be used to tailor treatment or measure progress.

The Static 99 is a 10-item risk prediction instrument designed to estimate the probability of sexual and violent reconviction for adult males who have already been either charged with or convicted of at least one sexual offense against a child or nonconsenting adult. The instrument measures static factors using question sets that cover three different areas: demographics, criminal history, and victim information. The Static 99 was created by combining items from two older risk assessment instruments: the Rapid Risk Assessment for Sexual Offense Recidivism (RRASOR) and the Structured Anchored Clinical Judgment-Minimum (SACJ-Min). In a comparison of the Static-99 and its successor, the Static-2002, the instruments were found to predict general, violent, and sexual recidivism. However, little evaluation data is available for the Static-2002.

The Sexual Violence Risk-20 (SVR-20) is an instrument used to assess for the presence of risk factors for sexual violence and to develop risk management plans. The 20 factors featured in the risk assessment were identified through a review of sexual recidivism literature, and fall into three main categories: Psychosocial Adjustment, Sexual Offenses, and Future Plans. The SVR-20 manual provides information for administrators on its use. Little validity or reliability data are available; its utility lies in its ability to help structure clinical assessments.

The Violent Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) is a tool used with people with mental illness who have been convicted of violent offenses to predict the risk of violence within a specific time frame following release. It uses the clinical record, particularly the psycho-social history component, as the basis for scoring as opposed to an interview or questionnaire. VRAG was initially developed to assess recidivism among people with mental illness, and considers 12 items including personality disorder, schizophrenia, age, marital status, and criminal record. In a comparative study with five other risk assessment instruments, the VRAG was found to predict general, violent, and sexual recidivism.