The Men’s Risk Needs Assessment (MRNA) is currently being piloted by a U.S. state department of corrections with men who are both incarcerated and under community supervision. Dr. Emily Salisbury serves as the Principal Investigator on the research studies assessing the tool’s validity and reliability.

This correctional agency is particularly interested in examining the prevalence of trauma and victimization among its male population, as well as identifying the number of fathers who wish to strengthen relationships with their children. Notably, no other male-specific risk and needs assessment includes measures of trauma, PTSD, parenting needs and strengths, or unhealthy intimate relationships. The MRNA may prove to be a critical tool for understanding the scope of these needs among men and identifying gaps in treatment services that could help reduce recidivism.

The MRNA represents a significant evolution in correctional assessment—what Dr. Salisbury and other founding gender-responsive scholars envisioned when advocating for a deeper understanding of justice-involved women’s needs: a willingness to consider how such needs also affect men and to provide appropriate, targeted interventions. For too long, men's experiences of trauma and victimization have been overlooked in correctional practice.