Documents/CSOSA/2: Release Conditions and Disposition of Cases/2.1: Risk and Needs Assessment

2.1: Risk and Needs Assessment

Provide timely, accurate, and meaningful assessments and recommendations to criminal justice decisionmakers.

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In addition, defendants and offenders under CSOSA’s supervision will be assessed to determine their level of risk to the community and their need for the programs and services CSOSA provides. CSOSA dedicates approximately 25 percent of its annual resources to activities in this area, including: - Risk screening using the CSOSA Screener; - Needs assessment using a variety of instruments (a revised instrument that integrates needs assessment with risk is currently under development); - Initial drug testing; - Preparation of the case plan; - Review at appropriate intervals of the risk assessment, needs assessment, and case plan; - Preparation of Presentence Investigations. Risk and needs assessment is the basis of case management. If the supervision officer is aware of the offender’s risk to the community, he or she can structure supervision to minimize that risk. Likewise, if the officer is aware of the offender’s programmatic needs, he or she can refer the offender to appropriate interventions. For the offenders CSOSA supervises, risk and needs assessment often begins prior to the start of supervision. CSOSA prepares Presentence Investigations for the D.C. Superior Court. These documents provide comprehensive criminal and social histories and include sentencing recommendations. Once the offender enters supervision, CSOSA administers its Risk Screener to determine the appropriate supervision level. The risk assessment process is currently being expanded to include a comprehensive needs assessment. General Goal: - CSOSA will improve its case planning process to incorporate risk and needs assessment, resulting in a case plan for each offender that identifies specific supervision requirements and intervention strategies. One of CSOSA’s major operational initiatives has been to implement appropriate and comprehensive assessment of defendants and offenders throughout the District’s correctional system. Appropriate assessment is a critical foundation for effective case management. The results of the assessment process drive the development of the treatment plan and outline conditions that will hold the defendant or offender accountable for his/her behavior while on release. CSOSA compiled a scientific review team and tasked this group with developing a comprehensive classification system. The team included practitioner and scientific experts in the areas of mental health, substance abuse, and criminality, as well as representatives from the National Institute of Corrections and the National Institute of Justice. The group developed the classification process and completed the instrument used during the first stage of the process. After the development of the instrument, definitions and procedures for its use, CSOSA implemented the screener throughout the Community Supervision Program. The screener was used on all new cases that entered probation or parole supervision on or after February 28, 2000. The Bureau of Governmental Research at the University of Maryland conducted an initial construction study to assess the predictive value of the screener. The second phase of the classification process is the assessment of needs. CSOSA is developing an instrument to assess the level of needs for offenders in the District Columbia. This instrument will assess offenders in a variety of areas (e.g., substance abuse, violence/aggression, vocational needs, life skills needs and interpersonal relationships). As CSOSA has developed its program, specific interventions such as substance abuse treatment, vocational education, faith-based mentoring, and other services have become increasingly available to assist the offender population. These services will be integrated into the needs assessment instrument, so that the assessment leads to specific strategies that can be used to assist each offender in overcoming the problems and deficits that affect his or her ability to make life changes. These program services will be combined with risk assessment to develop a supervision plan for the offender, outlining both the behavioral conditions to which he or she must adhere and the services he or she needs to access. CSOSA’s goal is therefore to complete the risk and needs assessment process it has begun, refining and expanding it into a comprehensive case planning mechanism that is an integral part of supervision. The risk and needs assessment and the case plan must be completed early enough in the supervision process to affect decision-making. The case plan must address both supervision (supervision contacts, drug testing, etc.) and programmatic issues (treatment, education, social issues, family issues, etc.) and be updated periodically to respond to changes in the offender’s behavior or situation. In addition, the risk and needs assessment tool will be validated on an ongoing basis to ensure that it is providing appropriate diagnostic results and treatment recommendations. Means and Strategies. As discussed above, CSOSA is now developing and will soon implement a needs assessment instrument. This instrument will be tested and validated in the coming years. In addition, the agency’s case management system will track whether initial assessment and updates are performed within timeframes set by policy. It is not expected that any additional resources will be required to achieve this goal. General Goal: - CSOSA will improve its Presentence Investigation Reports, as determined by timely submission and user satisfaction, each year over the next five years (from a baseline measurement established in FY 2004). In addition to risk and needs assessment of the supervised population, CSOSA staff prepare over three thousand Presentence Investigations every year for offenders sentenced in the D.C. Superior Court. These investigations provide important criminal background and social history information to the sentencing judge, and include a sentencing recommendation. Particularly in cases that do not go to trial, where the judge has little opportunity to learn the defendant’s history, these reports are critical to the judge’s ability to impose an appropriate sentence. Presentence Investigations are also used by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in determining institutional placement and, in some cases, by the U.S. Parole Commission (USPC) in formulating parole conditions. They become an important part of the offender’s record and a primary source of background information for staff who must make decisions about the offender. Case audits have revealed that over 90 percent of these reports are submitted on time, but additional effort is required to assess the quality and usefulness of the finished document. To that end, CSOSA has adopted a general goal of increasing user satisfaction with the document, as determined by user reports and ongoing review. Means and Strategies. Since its inception, CSOSA has emphasized the importance of the presentence investigation as a reference document that follows the offender throughout his time in the criminal justice system. It is the primary source of information about the offender’s criminal history, social history, substance abuse history, and past supervision or incarceration experiences. Within the constraints of existing resources, CSOSA has worked to improve the quality of the presentence investigation document. Performance measures for this goal will be structured to allow for a baseline measurement of both overall user satisfaction and specific elements of the investigation that can then be targeted for improvement. It is expected that the initial survey will be administered in FY 2004, with an annual follow-up each year throughout the period covered by this plan. Improvements in the presentence investigation will be achieved primarily through three strategies. First, portions of the investigation will be automated, reducing the amount of time the officer spends on routine clerical functions. Standard language for common phrases will be adopted to eliminate stylistic variations among writers. Second, the development, approval, and submission of each investigation report will be followed in the case management system to ensure timely action. Third, officers performing the investigative function may receive additional training, based on the results of the baseline survey, to improve the quality of certain portions of the document.

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