Case Study, State of Hawaii

The Sex Offender Management Team (SOMT) at the State of Hawaii is an inter-agency body with representation from six departments, namely:

  • Department of Public Safety
  • Judicial / Probation
  • Parole
  • Department of Health Services
  • Department of Human Services
  • Office of Youth Services

The SOMT adopted the Static-99 assessment in March 2007 as a sex offender specific assessment tool. The Stable-2007 and Acute-2007 were added in early 2008 and SORAF was configured to include the customized version of the Assessment Needs Summary Combined Report.

Prior to the implementation of SORAF, the State of Hawaii Department of Corrections was using Cyzap's EzAssess™ system with the ASUS and LSI-R assessment. However, these tools provide general criminogenic risk factors and don't work well for sex offender assessment.

By using SORAF, SOMT achieved a much more accurate picture of the risk level indicators for sexual and violent recidivism. In addition, where earlier the supervision levels were based solely on LSI factors, now the probation and parole officers use the highest risk factors from either the sex offense related trailers or the LSI, as applicable.

The SOMT has developed its own matrix to assess the risk of sexual recidivism based on a combined report of the Acute, Stable and LSI assessments. It is important to realize that the true advantage here is that these risk factors are evidence-based. The probation and parole officers use the corresponding results, known as case planning targets, and focus on the top 3 variables that point to sexual recidivism. This allows the officers to outline objectives for taking steps toward different treatment options.

In summary, SOMT has been able to achieve the following results by utilizing SORAF:

  • Focus on an offender's specific sex offense related risks and needs
  • Match the intensity of the supervision and treatment targets to the offender's level of risk
  • Provide intensive community supervision combined with appropriate treatment for high-risk offenders
  • Use the results of Acute-2007 to provide short term control and use the Combined Sex Offender Risk Level (derived from the combination of Static-99 and Stable-2007) to affect long-term behavior change
  • Allow the probation and parole officers to better manage their caseloads
  • Afford the officers more time to spend with their clients and to properly follow the "Risk, Needs, Responsivity" model to enhance public safety and reduce recidivism