Welcome to the Women's Risk Needs Assessment Research Professor Emily Salisbury's lab at the Utah Criminal Justice Center (UCJC) College of Social Work University of Utah.
We strive to conduct rigorous research that informs efforts to prevent women from cycling in and out of the criminal justice system, and to improve the lives of system-impacted women. The suite of Women's Risk Needs Assessment (WRNA) instruments are the only validated, peer-reviewed risk/need instruments in the public domain specifically designed by and for system-impacted women. The WRNA not only measures women's specific criminogenic needs, but also their strengths, to drive a comprehensive, holistic case-plan designed to work alongside women and their gender- and trauma-responsive treatment and supervision.
Now Recruiting
Dr. Emily Salisbury and UCJC are recruiting probation agencies interested in improving their gender-responsive supervision caseloads through a randomized controlled trial (RCT) research study funded by Arnold Ventures. UCJC was awarded funding to conduct research planning meetings with interested agencies to determine feasibility of an RCT comparing gender-responsive probation supervision versus traditional, gender-neutral probation supervision among female populations. If interested, please send a detailed explanation of how your agency meets the eligibility criteria listed below to ucjc@utah.edu.
Eligibility Criteria
- Agency has implemented WRNA to some extent
- Agency is able to electronically extract WRNA data from a management information system
- Agency is able to obtain recidivism data that measures arrest, conviction, and jail/prison stays
- Agency serves at least 500 new adult felony women clients annually
About the WRNA
The WRNA was originally created through a cooperative agreement between the National Institute of Corrections and the University of Cincinnati through research conducted by Patricia Van Voorhis, Emily Salisbury, Emily Wright, and Ashley Bauman. The instrument is now managed by Dr. Emily Salisbury at Utah Criminal Justice Center (UCJC), College of Social Work University of Utah. For more information about the WRNA, please contact Emily Salisbury at emily.salisbury@utah.edu.
The WRNA is a public-domain instrument. However, there are conditions of use, a license agreement, and training costs associated with its implemenation. A license/user agreement issued by the University of Utah must be signed by any interested agency before WRNA training can occur.
The Utah Criminal Justice Center offers online, interactive WRNA end-user training with self-paced and live learning sessions.
Sublicense Agreement
Women's Risk Factors and Their Contributions to Existing Risk-Needs Assessment (2010)
WRNA Validation for Incarcerated Women in the Czech Republic (2019)
Gender-Responsive Risk and Need Assessment-Book Chapter (2017)
Gender-Responsive Lessons Learned and Policy Implications for Women in Prison (2012)
Predictive Validity of a Gender-Responsive Needs Assessment (2009)
Predicting the Prison Misconducts of Women Offenders (2007)
On Behalf of Women Offenders-Women's Place in the Science of Evidence-Based Practice (2012)
WRNA Final Report to National Institute of Corrections (2008)
Women Girls and Criminal Justice Issue on WRNA (2009)
Corrections Today WRNA Article (2007)
Re-Validation Prison WRNA Final Report (2013)
Re-Validation Probation WRNA FInal Report (2013)