Mental health, corrections, and child protective services professionals are commonly asked to assess the risk that a person who has sexual abused poses to a specific child and under what circumstances, if any, the abuser might safely be allowed to have contact with the child. The Risk of Sexual Abuse of Children (ROSAC: McGrath, Allin, & Cumming, 2015) is a structured professional judgment assessment instrument for conducting these types of risk of sexual abuse assessments.
The ROSAC is composed of 30 items that are linked to the risk of sexual abuse to children. Items are scored on a 3-point scale and are grouped into three categories, namely, considerations concerning the (1) abuser, (2) child at potential risk, and (3) primary caregiver.
This one-day webinar will review the theory and research basis for the ROSAC and focus on using case studies to assist participants in practicing how to score and use the instrument for making risk determinations and developing safety plans.
Topics to be covered include:
1) Theoretical and research basis for the ROSAC
2) Differences between actuarial and structure professional risk assessment approaches
3) How the ROSAC is constructed and scored
4) How score and use the ROSAC to make risk determinations
5) How to use ROSAC risk to develop safety plans
6) The advantages of using collaborative ROSAC assessment approaches
7) The limitations of the ROSAC