LSI/CMI Technical Brochure

The LS/CMI™ system is a comprehensive measure of risk and need factors, as well as a fully functional case management tool. It is designed to assist professionals in management and treatment planning with adult and late adolescent male and female offenders in justice, forensic, correctional, prevention, and related agencies. By combining risk assessment with case management in a single system, the LS/CM! gives the profes­sional all the necessary tools in a single application.

The LS/CMI refines and combines the 54 LSI-R items into 43 LS/CMI Section 1 items while maintaining the item content (for current LSI-R users, LSI-R scores can be converted to LS/CMI scores). Assessors can also indicate areas of offender strength, which could serve as protective factors. Ten additional compre­hensive sections have been added. Several of these sections assess mitigating or aggravating factors that can affect risk/need levels, such as a section about concerns specific to incarcerated offenders. Other sections document a profession­al or administrative override. The find sections deal exclusively with case management considerations, including assessing responsivity concerns to help offenders rehabilitate.

The LS/CMI system's multi-component evaluation involves obtaining information from many sources about many aspects of the offender's life. Offenders are first interviewed to gather information so the assessor can accurately complete the assessment. The LS/CM! Interview Guide is highly recommended as an aid in this process. Its questions elicit specific information relevant for completing each LS/CMI item in Sections 1 to 5. A file review of police reports and other relevant data should be used to confirm information obtained from the offender. Interviews with the offender's friends and family members can complement the assessment process.

Once offender information has been gathered, the assessor can then begin the assessment process. The LS/CMI Offender History Form is a convenient way to summarize offender data, including previous and current convictions. The LS/CMI QuikScore- (software Sections 1-8) is the core of the assessment process, containing eight sections that help determine the offender risk/need level. Section 1: General Risk/Need Factors contains 43 items used to calculate the risk/need score (the LS/CMI section 1 score), which is comparable to the LSI-R Total score. Assessors also have the opportunity to mark subcomponents as strengths to highlight positive offender qualities.

Section 1 contains the following subcomponents.

• Criminal History (8 items)
• Education/Employment (9 items)
• Family/Marital (4 items)
• Leisure/Recreation (2 items)
• Companions (4 items)
• Alcohol/Drug Problem (8 items)

Notes: by Don Andrews, Ph.D., James Bonta, Ph.D., & J. Stephen Wormith, Ph.D./ software developed by Allvest Information Services, Inc.

* Requires additional license agreement with MHS (Multi-Health Systems, Inc.) www.mhs.com