The Matrix

a community corrections response to matching the offender with treatment resources.
Submitted by Gary Hinzman on behalf of the Sixth District Staff

 

The Matrix developed by Iowa’s Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services is designed to meet risk, need, and responsivity. The Matrix uses several assessment tools such as the Level of Services Inventory (LSI-R), Client Management Classification (CMC), American Society of Addictive Medicine (ASAM), the Brown for ADHD, and the Iowa Classification System, synthesizes the information, and uses it to plot a position on a sixteen-grid matrix. Using the mouse "to pop the screen open" the agent finds the supervision and treatment strategies available to work with that particular offender. Radio buttons on the left side of the computer screen give additional options such as responses to violating behaviors, thresholds, etc.

The Matrix will allow an agent to choose an option for treatment or supervision and automatically display the aggregate success rate for those options when previously used by staff of the Sixth District. Displayed on the right side of the screen are common definitions of terms or a bibliography of research material upon request. For example an agent exploring the use of the LSI could check the bibliography and find the "big four" factors pertaining to antisocial issues in Bonta’s work.

As the District is becoming more enlightened and increasingly directing more services to special populations the Matrix provides a high tech approach to assessing the risk and needs of the offenders and matching them with the treatment resources and the supervision strategies that the Sixth District has available.

For example the Sixth District has developed diagnostic and treatment services for persons with ADHD and those dually diagnosed with both substance abuse and mental health behavioral problems. Additionally the staff psychologist in the Client Services Unit can provide further assessment using the HARE Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) to test for aggressivity, etc. By contrast the Matrix can also identify offenders who are high-risk limit setters and those who may have gang ties or other antisocial issues as described by Bonta et el..

Additionally the Matrix allows the development of protocol and policy to provide the best practice for managing scarce resources. For example, in addition to a "continuum of sanctions" the Matrix also suggests a "continuum of treatment". The subtle benefit of developing a protocol for a continuum of treatment is that staff are not required to "ratchet up" responses for an offenders’ failure to comply. In fact one of the assessments incorporated into the Matrix is the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) which measures readiness of change. The Matrix also allows the agency to establish response thresholds and to establish appropriate responses for all violating behaviors.

The primary Matrix screen appears below. Displayed in bright colors the matrix clearly identifies the appropriate grid based on the assessment data that has been entered. Below grid 3 is highlighted, indicating that the offender is assigned to moderate control and moderate treatment. Using the radio buttons on the left side the agent can "pop open" additional screens.

For example the agent may want to review the assessment scores that caused the placement. In that event they may view the screen where the assessment information was inputted as represented by the graphic in the right column. The screen depicted there however is only a partial screen and does not show all the assessment information that should be completed.

The Matrix consists of two axes; risk (control) and need (treatment). The instrument operates on the principle that to supervise offenders, one must assess both areas and use that information in developing a supervision and treatment strategy.

The matrix breaks the client population into four major groups, then into sixteen subgroups. Each subgroup has specific control and treatment options staff may choose depending on the offender’s case management history and available resources. The matrix is fluid thus offenders can move up and down on both axes depending on their response to supervision. Generally this movement occurs after successful completion of programming or in response to violating behavior.

The Matrix is designed to interface with a database to provide outcomes on offender success rates, program effectiveness, client profiles, and other information.

By entering specific data about an offenders including demographics, assessment results, criminal history, and supervision status, the Matrix will synthesize the information and provide users with a range of case management interventions consistent with an offender’s risk level and criminogenic needs (or dynamic risk factors).

By inputting information unique to the individual offender, programming can be targeted and matched to the offender profile thus maintaining the principle of responsivity.

The primary mission of the Matrix is to assist the agent, supervisor, and court in selecting the most desirable intermediate sanction based on risk, need, and responsivity. It also helps select the least restrictive alternative to revocation, commensurate with community safety, deemed appropriate to control or change offender behavior. By using the radio buttons the agent can access fields to review supervision and treatment options.

The agent can also obtain screens on appropriate sanctions, thresholds, violating responses, program options, examples of offenders in this grid, and profiles of offenders in this grid. Again, once the option is chosen the agent will see a aggregate percentage indicating the success of all other agents who previously used that option. In the next column is a sample screen on sanctions.

This also allows the Sixth District to identify resource gaps (or needed services) and options or programs that do not work well with targeted populations.

The Matrix has given the Sixth District the ability to use an assessment driven response to move offenders up or down on a continuum of sanctions and/or a continuum of treatments that provides for both public safety and appropriate response to risk and need. It also provides for the development of an objective and fair protocol to move offenders within a range of treatments and sanctions or can provide an objective criterion for revocation responses.