| The Oregon Accountability Model - Critical Risk Factor Assessment and Case Planning |
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Criminal Risk Factor and Case Planning Component
Printable version - Critical Risk Factor Assessment and Case Planning  |
The Oregon Accountability Model encompasses the simultaneous, coordinated and efficient implementation of many Department of Corrections initiatives and projects that provide a foundation for inmates to lead successful lives upon release.
The Oregon Accountability Model has six components. Each of these components stands on its own as a project or a part of the Oregon Department of Corrections’ organization and culture. However, woven together these six separate components form a stronger fiber that strengthens the department’s ability to hold inmates/offenders accountable for their actions and DOC staff accountable for achieving the mission and vision of the department.
The Criminal Risk Factor Assessment and Case Planning Component
With the opening of the new intake center at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, the department implemented an enhanced assessment process. The outcome is a corrections plan for every inmate that is tracked throughout an inmate´s incarceration and supervision in the community.
Criminal Risk Factors
International and national research indicates that certain risk factors predict criminal behavior. The key to good correctional outcomes is to develop a method to assess these risk factors and then provide programs and services that mitigate the identified risk factors. Oregon has reviewed this vast research and in collaboration with the National Institute of Corrections and the Correctional Services of Canada have chosen the top seven risk factors to assess and address with its correctional programs. The definitions of the seven criminal risk factors are:
Associates:Personal associations, positive and negative, that affect an inmate’s risk of reoffending; positive support networks; the value an individual places on non-criminal associates and opportunities for positive interactions.
Substance Abuse: Individual alcohol and/or drug use that influence the inmate’s criminal behavior; the value the individual places on living without reliance on alcohol and/or drugs.
Community Functioning: Inmates’ knowledge and possession of necessary skills to function independently; how an inmate manages the fundamentals of his/her situation such as personal health and finance; the value an individual places on mastering the skills of daily living.
Education and Employment: The effect of the inmate’s education and employment on their criminal lifestyle; the role of work/education in an inmate’s life; the value the individual places on work/education.
Emotional and Mental Health: The effect of the inmate’s personal/emotional orientation; the value the individual places on being in control of one´s life.
Marital and Family Life: Relationships with family members, ie, caring, hostile, indifferent; the value the individual places on being with family and the support one derives from them.
Attitudes: How an inmate views justice, society, property, violence, the criminal lifestyle; involvement in pro-social activities; the value the individual places on living in law-abiding ways.
Additionally, there are a number of collateral assessments of the inmate that pinpoint specific interventions to develop pro-social thinking and behavior. These assessments include literacy, medical and dental health, demographic information, IQ, learning disabilities, and mental retardation/developmental disabilities.
The Corrections Plan
Individual case planning is based on mitigating the risk factors identified through the assessment process. The case planning is documented in an automated system called the corrections plan. The corrections plan identifies specific activities to be performed and skills to be learned in order to mitigate the identified risk factors. Because the plan is automated, it "travels" with the inmate during his/her entire incarceration and out into the community while on supervision. This blue print for change is central to long term public safety.
The department provides targeted programs and services to mitigate identified risk factors during incarceratand community supervision. The inmate is responsible for the decision and effort to change. The inmate is held accountable for carrying out the activities identified in the intake process. Positive corrections plan performance is reinforced by the Performance Recognition and Award System (PRAS). The department makes available to inmates monetary awards and other incentives to perform well in work assignments and to participate fully in programs addressing their criminal thinking, education and training needs, substance abuse problems, and other contributors to their criminal behavior. The result is to hold the inmate accountable for the interventions identified during the assessment. These activities, once completed, are checked off during periodic reviews by institutional counselors and parole/probation officers.
The Oregon Accountability Model
From the first day of intake, the Oregon Accountability Model focuses on returning inmates to the community as productive and pro-social citizens. The department creates opportunities for change every day through programs included in each inmate’s corrections plan. When offenders’ individual risk factors are identified, addressed and mitigated, there is less likelihood that they will commit new crimes.
The ultimate goal of the Oregon Accountability Model is to improve public safety. The model ties together many concurrent and interrelated efforts of the department and its partners into a cohesive strategy to reduce recidivism and influence inmates into becoming productive citizens.
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