Robert S. Wright, a professional with over three decades of experience spanning fields such as education, child welfare, forensic mental health, sexual violence, and cultural competence, has developed a method that is shedding light on the systemic biases that have long undermined fairness and justice within the legal system. 

Since 2014, the Impact of Race and Culture Assessment (IRCA) has been assisting Canadian courts in arriving at more just sentences for people of African descent. IRCAs are assessments that consider an individual’s experience with racism, discrimination, and cultural factors in the context of their offending behavior. By systematically gathering information on the historical and contemporary impact of race and culture, IRCAs provide a richer, multi-dimensional understanding of individuals that can inform more effective rehabilitation and reintegration strategies. They were originally designed to address “race blindness” in sentencing, which has resulted in the overrepresentation of Blacks in the carceral system—best viewed as a symptom of systemic racism. Since the introduction of IRCA, the implications of having culturally competent assessments at sentencing have been felt in other settings.

During the training, Mr. Wright explores the history and context behind the development of IRCAs and how they are being increasingly adopted by the criminal justice system. Through interactive discussion and case examples, participants gain practical knowledge on how to interpret and apply the information gathered through IRCAs to build cultural competence at both an individual and organizational level. Specific implications for culturally informed assessment and treatment of Black people who have committed sexual offenses are examined. The training also provides considerations on the DSM-5 Cultural Formulation Interview.

This training challenges participants to go beyond “cultural” considerations to address the effect of racism in our assessment practices.