NIC-UCJC Partnership to Improve the Women's Risk Needs Assessment (WRNA)

SESSION INFO

Monday, August 28, 2023
9:15 AM - 10:45 AM
Session Type: Workshop

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is committed to promoting evidence-based, gender-responsive correctional policies and practices. In that vein, NIC is partnering with the Utah Criminal Justice Center to deliver training on the Women’s Risk Needs Assessment (WRNA), which is one of the only validated, peer-reviewed risk/need/strength assessment instruments specifically designed to predict women’s justice-involvement. This workshop will discuss the development of the WRNA and the ways in which it assists community corrections agencies to improve outcomes for women; highlight the various gender-neutral and gender-responsive scales incorporated within the tool; identify research efforts investigating the utility of the instrument in various settings (i.e., mental health courts, probation/parole supervision, non-profit service delivery); and emphasize the challenges that emerge before, during, and after adoption. Improvements to the instrument, as well as tools to help agencies implement, will be presented.

SESSION PRESENTERS

Holly L Busby
Acting Deputy Director, National Institute of Corrections


Holly Busby has a diverse career in the criminal justice and social service system spanning more than 27 years. Holly currently serves as the Acting Deputy Director for the National Institute of Corrections in Washington, D.C. NIC is a leader in the field of criminal justice, providing cutting edge training, technical assistance and information services to federal, state, and local corrections agencies as well as public policymakers. In her current role, she leads the division which focuses on pretrial, probation, parole and reentry. Holly along with her exceptional team of Correctional Program Specialists work together to bring innovative projects to enhance correctional practice throughout the country. Some of these initiatives include: Evidence Based Decision Making, Pretrial Justice and Front End Interventions, Parole Structured Decision Making Framework, Dosage Probation, Justice Involved Women and Gender-Responsive programs, Post-Conviction Victim Services, Offender Workforce Development, Correctional Industries, Transition from Jails to Community and Specialized Housing Units for Justice Involved Veterans.


Katie Reick
Correctional Program Specialist, National Institute of Corrections

Dr. Emily J Salisbury
Director and Associate Professor, Utah Criminal Justice Center


Dr. Emily Salisbury is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Utah Criminal Justice Center at the University of Utah College of Social Work. She is trained as an applied criminologist and focuses her research on correctional policy, risk/needs assessment, and treatment intervention strategies, with a particular focus on system-involved women, gender-responsive practices, and trauma-responsive care. Her research publications have appeared in several top academic journals and edited volumes. As a result of her scholarship on behalf of women, she was awarded the Marguerite Q. Warren and Ted B. Palmer Differential Intervention Award from the American Society of Criminology Division on Corrections and Sentencing. Dr. Salisbury is a co-creator of the Women’s Risk Needs Assessment (WRNA) instruments that were developed through a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Corrections. The WRNA correctional assessments are specifically designed to focus on the risk, needs, and strengths of system-involved women, and have been implemented in over 80 international and domestic jurisdictions. For five years, she also served as Editor-in-Chief of Criminal Justice and Behavior, a top research and policy journal focused on correctional rehabilitation. Lastly, Dr. Salisbury is co-author of the book, Correctional Counseling and Rehabilitation, currently in its 10th edition.