Risk of Sexual Abuse of Children (ROSAC) Structured Professional Guidelines for Assessing the Risk a Sexual Abuser Poses to a Child and Making Contact Decisions by Robert McGrath

The ROSAC is a structured professional guide to help professionals assess the risk a sexual abuser poses to a particular child and under what circumstances, if any, the abuser might safely be allowed contact with the child. It is designed to be used child protection services professionals probation and parole officers mental health professionals victim advocates Typical situations in which the ROSAC may be helpful A child protective services (CPS) agency is investigating a report that a sexual abuser is now living with a family that has children and the agency must determine the risk of sexual harm to the child and develop an intervention plan. A probation officer must determine whether to grant a probationer’s request to live in a home with children. The probationer was previously convicted of committing a sexual offense. A mental health professional, CPS agency, probation department, and victim advocate are collaborating to determine whether to reunite a family in which the father sexually abused one of his children. The ROSAC is composed of 30 items that are empirically or theoretically linked to sexual reoffending, and are each coded on a 3-point scale. The items focus on key considerations about the sexual abuser, child at potential risk, and primary caregiver. The ROSAC Manual includes a step-by-step method for helping professionals make these important risk of sexual harm decisions. The manual includes worksheets for documenting the decision making process.