Spotlight on Responsivity

General responsivity calls for the use of cognitive-behavioral approaches to treatment as such approaches have been shown to be most effective with offenders as a whole.

Specific responsivity, however, acknowledges that non-criminogenic needs may help or hinder the provision of and response to treatment, thus they need to be addressed in order to maximize recidivism reduction.

A major factor in achieving responsivity is the dosage or intensity of programming and controls. Higher risk and greater needs require more intensive interventions. To guide responsivity, the RNR Simulation Tool matches offenders to a level of programming and controls based on their risk level and criminogenic needs.

The concept of RNR is considered a best practice for corrections (Taxman, 2006) and has been shown to effectively reduce recidivism by as much as 35% when implemented in certain settings (Bonta & Andrews, 2007). Research has shown that non-adherence to the RNR principles in service delivery is not only ineffective, but can also be detrimental to offender treatment outcomes (Lowenkamp & Latessa, 2005). One study examining the effectiveness of treatment programs reported a substantial negative correlation (r = -.28) between risk level and treatment effect size for a program that did not adhere to the RNR principles (Bonta, Andrews & Wormith, 2006).

Why do we need a Risk-Need-Responsivity Tool?

• Reducing criminal behavior and improving public safety can best be achieved by matching offenders to services that are consistent with the behaviors that drive their criminal activity.

• The current distribution of treatment services to offenders in prison, jail and community corrections is inconsistent with the needs of the offender. Significant improvements in reducing recidivism cannot be made unless this gap in services is closed.

• There is a pressing need to help jurisdictions develop guidelines as to how to allocate offenders into appropriate services including what services need to exist.

The RNR Simulation Tool consists of three easy to use portals. These portals are currently available through ACE!’s CJ-TRAK suite, a web-based compilation of translational tools for practitioners

1. Asses an Individual/Estimate Recidivism Reduction: The Assess an Individual portal emphasizes using data from criminal justice and behavioral health screenings and assessments to determine the most effective type of program and controls to reduce individual recidivism. This portal can be used with a jurisdiction’s instruments, by itself, or in combination with other tools. Designed for line staff, users are asked to answer 17 questions about individual offenders’ risk, needs, and lifestyle factors. The system then provides a recommendation regarding the type of program that would best fit the individual and lead to the greatest recidivism reductions. If certain information is not available, the RNR Simulation Tool will rely upon its underlying database of offender risk-need profiles to estimate likely attributes based on the prevalence of each attribute in the national population. Users can integrate jurisdiction-specific data regarding the prevalence of individual attributes to produce customized feedback. This portal also estimates a percent reduction in recidivism that one might expect if the offender is matched to the level of programming that is consistent with their unique needs (i.e., a program of best fit).
2. Rate Your Jurisdiction’s Programs: This 30-minute program assessment tool examines the content, quality, dosage, and other factors of services/treatments/controls offered for justice-involved individuals. Jurisdiction administrators or program managers simply input information about a specific program offered and the tool provides detailed feedback indicating what risk-need profiles the program is best suited to meet. The portal also rates the program’s overall quality according to the RNR principles and core correctional practice. When applicable, the tool provides recommendations for how program administrators can refine the program to better achieve responsivity and improve outcomes. The three main goals of the program tool are: 1) to classify programs to facilitate treatment matching, 2) to explore how programs currently target the risk level and criminogenic needs of their clients, and 3) to asses programs on their use of evidence-based practices. The tool is intended to help criminal justice agencies better understand the resources available to them and to foster responsivity to specific risk-need profiles.
3. Assess Jurisdiction’s Capacity/Estimate Recidivism Reduction:The Assess Jurisdiction’s Capacity portal uses inputted information to assess a jurisdiction’s capacity to be responsive to the risk-need profiles of individuals in its jurisdiction. Based on data from 18 questions about the prevalence of risk and needs of individuals in the jurisdiction, the portal provides an initial recommendation of the amount and type of programming needed to adequately respond to the jurisdiction’s population. When users enter information regarding the available programs in a jurisdiction, the portal also identifies system-level gaps in the jurisdiction’s capacity to provide responsivity and recommends levels of programming the jurisdiction may need to augment in order to better respond to the needs of their population.

Coming Soon! Taxman, F., & Pattavina, A. (forthcoming). Simulation Strategies to Reduce Recidivism:  Risk Need Responsivity (RNR) Modeling in the Criminal Justice System. Springer.

The Risk-Need-Responsivity Simulation Tool

The Technical Background of the Risk, Need, Responsivity (RNR) Simulation Tool

The RNR Simulation Tool: A Demonstration. Presented at the Bureau of Justice Assistance in December, 2012.

ACE! Researcher Michael Caudy presented this poster at the Addiction Health Services Research Annual Conference in October, 2012. Download poster here.