California training: Complex issues in SVP evaluations

California's Department of Mental Health has just announced an exciting training featuring several prominent psychologists in the sex offender field. The two-day training, March 9-10 in beautiful Seaside (by Monterey), features:

Dr. Robert Prentky, a psychology professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey and a leading researcher and practitioner in the field of sex offender risk

Dr. Howard Barbaree, Clinical Director of the Law and Mental Health Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, a pioneer in the study of the mitigating effects of aging and treatment on sex offender risk

Dr. Richard Wollert, a sex offender evaluator and treatment provider in Washington State who has published cutting-edge work on the application of mathematical principles (such as base rates, probability theory and Bayes' Theorem) to risk assessment

Dr. Brian Abbott, a forensic psychologist in San Jose, California, whose recent published work critiques the scientific reliability and validity of actuarial tools used to assess sex offender recidivism risk

More information and online registration is available through the event's cosponsor, the College of Continuing Education at the California State University in Sacramento. The fee is a bargain -- only $100 including lunch, and they've negotiated a steeply discounted hotel rate as well. If you’re a psychologist, it's a great way to get up to speed on recent developments in sex offender risk assessment while earning six units of CE credits.

Kudos to the Sex Offender Commitment Program of the Department of Mental Health for organizing such an exciting training!

Click HERE for more information.

Also coming up in Seaside:

By the way, while I'm promoting conferences at the Embassy Suites in Seaside (pictured above), don't forget the Forensic Mental Health Association's annual conference there on March 24-26. I will be giving a training on "Ethical Considerations in Psychiatric Diagnoses in Forensic and Correctional Settings." They've also got an entire track on Competency to Stand Trial. The brochure and registration information are online HERE.

Panel: Solitary confinement as human rights abuse

For you readers on the West Coast, Stanford Law School is holding a provocative conference on Oct. 16-17 entitled "Shaking the Foundations: The West Coast Conference on Progressive Lawyering." One Saturday afternoon panel caught my eye, both because of the topic and the speakers:

Solitary Confinement in America's Prisons: A Human Rights Abuse?

Having worked in a segregation housing unit, I have seen the mental health consequences of prolonged solitary confinement, especially on the psyches of prisoners who are already mentally ill, up close and personal. Out of sight, out of mind -- many in the public are unaware of the extent to which solitary confinement is being used routinely in prisons these days. So, it's good to see this topic getting some critical attention.

The speakers are impressive:

• Joan Petersilia, one of the foremost prison researchers around and now a law professor at Stanford

• Terry Kupers, a forensic psychiatrist and professor at the Wright Institute who wrote Prison Madness, a book about incarceration and mental health

• J. Clark Kelso, Professor of Law & Senior Counsel to the Capital Center for Government Law and Policy, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law

• Nick Trenticosta, Director, Center for Equal Justice

Here is the panel description:

One in one hundred Americans are currently incarcerated, and a growing number of those incarcerated are held in conditions of solitary confinement. In Supermax prisons, administrative segregation units, and even Guantanamo Bay, prisoners spend 22 or 23 hours of every day in isolation, for weeks, months or years. This panel will discuss the expanded use of solitary confinement in the American prison system and its effects on prisoners' health and recidivism. Through this discussion, panelists will ask: Is the use of solitary confinement cruel and unusual punishment? Is it a human rights violation? And if so, what can be done?

The presentation is Saturday, October 17, from 3:45-5:15 p.m. More information, registration, and directions are HERE.

Mark your calendars: RSVP training Oct. 22

Just a quick reminder for you sex offender evaluators:

On Thursday, October 22, Stephen Hart of the Mental Health, Law, and Policy Institute at Simon Fraser University in Canada will be in Oregon, giving an all-day training on his Risk for Sexual Violence Protocol (RSVP), a descendant of the Sexual Violence Risk-20 instrument. The training, sponsored by the Northwest Forensic Institute, will be held at Portland State University in downtown Portland.

The RSVP uses structured professional judgment (SPJ) to assess sex offender risk. Preliminary research suggests excellent interrater reliability, concurrent validity with actuarial tools, and moderate predictive validity about equivalent to that of actuarial tools. An advantage over the actuarials, however, is its risk management focus. Evaluators derive individually based risk scenarios and then create strategies to manage identified risks.

This promises to be a good training. Dr. Hart is a great presenter, not to mention an internationally renowned researcher, forensic psychologist and past president of the American Psychology-Law Society.

The cost is $175 (only $75 for students), and you can get more information and register online.

ABF doctoral fellowship opportunity

The American Bar Foundation is recruiting fellows for its Doctoral Fellowships in Law and Social Science for the 2010-2011 academic year. The goal is to "develop the next generation of scholars in the field of law and social science" by supporting "original and significant research on law, the legal profession, and legal institutions." The stipend is $27,000 plus expenses.

Eligible applicants must have completed all doctoral requirements except the dissertation by September 1, 2010. Doctoral and proposed research must be in the area of sociolegal studies or in social scientific approaches to law, the legal profession, or legal institutions. The research must address significant issues in the field and show promise of a major contribution to social scientific understanding of law and legal process. Minority students are especially encouraged to apply.

The Foundation has other fellowship and student opportunities as well, including the Law and Social Science Dissertation Fellowship and Mentoring Program, focusing on the study of law and inequality, and the Summer Research Diversity Program.

For more details, visit the ABF website's fellowships page.