As many cities and counties across the country have implemented “shelter in place” orders, the necessity of social distancing is rapidly changing the way we navigate our day-to-day lives and our careers. Each of you are working through how to do your work virtually where possible. We will be sharing a series of resources and guidelines on how to navigate the work you do with our tools digitally. You will find information on virtually interviewing clients using the LS/CMI suite of assessments below.
Virtual Interviews with the LS Suite of Assessments
We understand that typically LS interviews are done in-person. At this time, while staff and clients are practicing social distancing or shelter in place orders, this is not possible. MHS supports the use of virtual interviews to gather information on your client while using the LS suite of assessments including the LSI-R, LS/CMI, LS/RNR, LSI-R:SV, YLS/CMI, YLS/CMI 2.0 and YLS/CMI:SRV. It is important to note that all information collected in an LS interview should be confirmed and supported with collateral and case file information. Thus, virtual interviewing should not jeopardize the integrity of the LS tools.
Conducting the Interview
The LS suite of assessments interview can be conducted by phone or video conferencing. Video conferencing is the preferred method as physical cues may be important during an interview, improving the interview process. We realize not everyone will have access to video conferencing so using the phone is also a suitable option.
Interviewing Tips
Ensure you and your client have strong reception so that you both can hear and fully understand what is being said during the interview. Also, make sure your devices have enough battery power to complete the interview. Most importantly, try and manage expectations. Utilizing technology can be incredibly useful, but it can also have its challenges. We have all been on conference calls where reception is poor, video quality is lacking, or everyone seems to talk over one another. Given these potential frustrations, it is important to manage expectations prior to starting the interview and set some ground rules and expectations for both you and your client. Ensure your client knows that in the event of a dropped call, you will call them back immediately. In addition, you may wish to set up a contingency plan in the event the phone call or video conference cannot be recovered. You may also wish to ask the client to step away to a quiet room until the interview is finished. The potential for follow-up calls may also be outlined at the onset of the interview.Ensure you and your client have strong reception so that you both can hear and fully understand what is being said during the interview. Also, make sure your devices have enough battery power to complete the interview. Most importantly, try and manage expectations. Utilizing technology can be incredibly useful, but it can also have its challenges. We have all been on conference calls where reception is poor, video quality is lacking, or everyone seems to talk over one another. Given these potential frustrations, it is important to manage expectations prior to starting the interview and set some ground rules and expectations for both you and your client. Ensure your client knows that in the event of a dropped call, you will call them back immediately. In addition, you may wish to set up a contingency plan in the event the phone call or video conference cannot be recovered. You may also wish to ask the client to step away to a quiet room until the interview is finished. The potential for follow-up calls may also be outlined at the onset of the interview.
Use Professional Judgement
You may find that answering some of the questions on the LS suite of tools can be difficult during this time. You will need to figure out how to properly answer many of the questions on the assessment and identify what attitudes and behaviors indicate a risk of recidivism and what are merely a result of practicing social distancing or shelter in place orders. Although the scoring guidelines are developed based on rigorous research—they cannot cover all scenarios. As such, now more than ever, we need to practice professional judgement and ensure we are using the tools in a way that meets the changing conditions of our environment. It is crucial to remember that what we are seeing today is completely unprecedented. None of us, including the subject matter experts, have all the information. We must work together and share experiences and questions with one another so we can collectively figure out solutions. Please reach out to your business development representative with any questions you have about scoring the LS suite of assessments.
We encourage you to reach out to our MHS team to get the support you need to manage your organization through these difficult times. You can reach our customer service team at [email protected]. On demand and virtual trainings will continue to be available at gifrinc.com and digital platforms will continue to remain available. Our teams are fully staffed, and our warehouse is still shipping physical product.
We recognize many of you are deemed essential workers. We would like to express our gratitude for your dedication in these trying times.
Stay positive, and collaborate in such a way that when we look back on this in a couple of years, we can feel proud of how we rallied together as a united force. #WeAreInThisTogether
Visit Our COVID-19 Digital Resource Toolkit