Measuring Offender Progress in Treatment Using the Client Assessment Inventory

The accurate and reliable assessment of client psychological and cognitive change during correctional substance abuse treatment has gained increasing importance during the past decade as criminal justice systems seek to evaluate and understand those treatment elements associated with long-term change. The Client Assessment Inventory (CAI) is a self-report instrument for measuring client change during treatment across 14 cognitive and behavioral domains. The reliability and internal consistency of the CAI, as adapted for use in criminal justice settings, were examined with data gathered from 1,170 offenders. The research addressed the utility of the CAI for different subpopulations of offenders (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender) across a variety of correctional treatment settings. Overall, the data support the use of the CAI as a consistent, reliable, and easily administered instrument for measuring client performance and progress in treatment in both therapeutic community (TC) and non-TC correctional treatment settings.

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