Risk Instruments
Prior to selecting a risk assessment instrument, the SARATSO Review Committee hears testimony from experts who have authored sex offender risk assessment tools, the public, and many stakeholders in the field of risk assessment. The Review Committee considers all testimony and reviews the presentations in concert with the associated requirements established in Penal Code Section 290.04.
In 2007, the Committee selected the Static-99 as the static risk assessment instrument for adult males, and the JSORRAT-II as the static risk assessment instrument for juvenile males. In 2008, the Committee chose to use the revised version of the Static-99, the Static-99R, based on new research. In 2011, the Committee selected a dynamic risk assessment instrument, the SRA-FV (Structured Risk Assessment, Forensic Version),and a violence risk tool, the LS/CMI (Level of Service/Case Management Inventory) for use by sex offender treatment providers as part of certified sex offender management programs, beginning in July 2012. There is currently no available tool for validated for use with a female sex offender population.
The risk assessment instruments currently adopted by SARATSO are:
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Static sex offender risk assessment: Static-99R
The Static-99R is based on static (unchanging) risk factors which predict the potential for sexual re-offending. This risk assessment instrument is required by law in California to be used by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to assess every eligible sex offender prior to release on parole; by Probation, to assess every eligible sex offender pre-sentencing and on a probation case load; and by Department of State Hospitals, prior to release of an eligible sex offender from a DSH institution. In 2012 an inter-rater reliability study in California showed that inter-rater reliability on the instrument is strong. Click here for a summary of the inter-rater reliability study. For more information on the Static-99R, click on the links below or visit www.static99.org.
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Juvenile sex offender risk assessment: JSORRAT-II
The JSORRAT-II was developed using an actuarial approach in an attempt to bring greater accuracy and utility to risk assessments for male juveniles who have offended sexually, recognizing the potential for accurate risk assessment to inform a range of decisions, including placement, programming, supervision, and other resource allocation decisions. The JSORRAT-II is a 12-item actuarial risk assessment tool initially developed for Utah Juvenile Justice Services to provide empirically-based estimates of risk for future juvenile sexual offending by male juveniles in the juvenile justice system for prior sexual offences.
To see this proprietary tool click here!
Probation, parole and DSH personnel can e-mail SARATSO staff (go to Contact Us) for the password to this site.
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Dynamic sex offender risk assessment: SRA-FV (Structured Risk Assessment-Forensic Version)
The SRA: FV must be used by sex offender management professionals beginning in 2012 to assess registered sex offenders while they are on probation or parole. (Pen. Code, § 290.09.) The tool measures dynamic (changing) risk factors which are empirically related to the risk of reoffense, and is an evidence-based risk assessment tool. Dynamic risk assessment will supplement the static risk assessment now done in California using the Static-99R, and will give a better picture of the overall risk of reoffense presented by sex offenders on supervision.
Treatment providers who have been certified to score SARATSO instruments can access information on those instruments by clicking here!
Providers can e-mail SARATSO staff (go to Contact Us) for the password to this site.
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Violence sex offender risk assessment: LS/CMI (Level of Service/Case Management Inventory)
The LSCMI must be used by sex offender management professionals beginning in 2012 to assess registered sex offenders while they are on probation or parole. (Pen. Code, § 290.09.) The tool measures the risk of violent re-offense, and is an evidence-based risk assessment tool. Violence risk assessment will supplement the static risk assessment now done in California using the Static-99R, and will be implemented at the same time as the use of dynamic risk assessment. The combination of these three instruments will give a better picture of the overall risk of reoffense presented by sex offenders on supervision.
Treatment providers who have been certified to score SARATSO instruments can access information on those instruments by clicking here!
Providers can e-mail SARATSO staff (go to Contact Us) for the password to this site.
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SARATSO letters to the Governor and Legislature re selection of risk instruments:
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SARATSO received a grant of $250,000 from the Assembly Rules Committee and the Speaker of the House, John Perez, to be used for the furtherance of evidence-based risk assessment in California.