Development and Validation of a Parole Quality Assurance Inventory (PQAI)

Focus on evidence-based practice in the area of parole has been increasing in recent years. The purpose of the current study was to examine aspects of paroling authorities and how they function in order to better define high quality paroling systems. In order to achieve this, the Parole Quality Assurance Inventory (PQAI) was developed to measure paroling authority quality. The psychometric properties of this scale were evaluated, as well as, efforts were made to validate this scale by examining its relationship with parole performance indicators. Thirteen paroling authorities completed the PQAI. Results found that the PQAI was unable to be validated. Although, with a large amount of removed items, the scale was able to achieve appropriate psychometric properties, there was no relationship between PQAI subscale and total scores with the proportion of offenders who failed in the community. Limitations and future directions are discussed.