Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Ohio Risk Assessment System

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) has long supported supervision and programming practices rooted in the ever-growing body of the "what works" literature.  Implementing evidence based practices begins with utilizing a valid risk and need assessment tool.  In 2006, DRC contracted with the University of Cincinnati, Center for Criminal Justice Research, to develop a universal Ohio-based assessment system that would be utilized at various points in the criminal justice system.  This project was recently completed and is called the Ohio Risk Assessment System (ORAS). The ORAS tools can be used at pretrial, prior to or while on community supervision, at prison intake, and in preparation for reentry just prior to release from prison.

What are the Benefits of ORAS?

• Provides reliable assessment instruments with consistent meaning.
• Reduces duplication and enhances communication and sharing of information.
• Gathers information regarding potential barriers to treatment.
• Creates a system that expands as the Offender moves through different processing stages.
• Fully automated tools with potential for auto-population to other IT systems.
• Provides thorough and useful information to aid in informed decision making.
• Allows for professional discretion and overrides.
• Reliance on instruments able to significantly distinguish between risk levels.
• Assist in more efficient allocation of supervision and treatment resources.
• Generates case plans that identify and prioritize individual offender needs and specific treatment domains.
• Predicts likelihood of re-arrest and recidivism at different points in the criminal justice system.

Project Status

DRC has launched a pilot project to test the workflow process and logistics for implementing  ORAS using the paper version of the tool.  The pilot sites are located in Mahoning and Franklin Counties, six DRC institutions (Allen Correctional Institution, Chillicothe Correctional Institution, Correctional Reception Center, Marion Correctional Institution, Noble Correctional Institution, and the Ohio Reformatory for Women) and several community correction agencies have joined the project. The pilot will provide valuable feedback to DRC for developing policies and procedures that are logical and streamlined prior to the full implementation of ORAS. Further, the pilot will assist with developing a concrete quality assurance process.  With any tool, there must be a mechanism to ensure it is administered with the highest level of quality and accuracy.

Milestones

Scheduled for August, 2010:

• Pre-Trial and Community Supervision Tool online;
• ORAS Training Package Developed;
• All Policies Fully Re-Written and Approved.

Scheduled for March 2011:

• Full usage of ORAS within DRC and All DRC Funded Programs.