Question: What do I need to do to be qualified to administer the MEGA♪
Answer: One must complete the MEGA♪ 1 Day Specialized Certification Training.
Question: How do I order the MEGA♪?
Answer: Once you have completed the MEGA♪ 1 Day Specialized Certification Training, you will receive
instructions on how to log onto to the MEGA♪ website and place your order for the number of risk reports needed (pay via PayPal).
Question: Why is there a cost for the MEGA♪ reports?
Answer: Court systems opt for accuracy, preferring not to rely on unscientific methods (guess-estimates) on risk assessment. Court systems expect more solidly empirically based methods and measures.
MEGA♪ established normative data according to age group and gender and is how the profiles are scored. There is no “guess-estimate”. The cost is related to the scientific method and expertise of MEGA♪.
Question: How do you know that the MEGA♪ is accurate?
Answer:MEGA♪ was tested on an international sample of over 1000 youth with an accuracy rate of 71%,
considered an acceptable level of accuracy for a risk assessment tool.
Question: Did the MEGA♪ validation studies show any differences between males and females?
Answer: Yes, males were at higher risk for sexually abusive behaviors and are significantly more likely to reoffend.
Question: Can I use the MEGA♪ to assess youth with low intellectual functioning?
Answer: Yes. Over 20% of the MEGA♪ validation, international samples were youth with low intellectual functioning.
Question: Can I use the MEGA♪ to assess non-adjudicated youth?
Answer:MEGA♪ is applicable to both adjudicated and non-adjudicated youth who are in variety settings (i.e., outpatient,
inpatient, foster care, or group homes and residential facilities, and juvenile detention facilities).
Question: You indicated that MEGA♪ can be used with youth ages 4-19 year olds, boys and girls. How can one tool be used with such a wide age range?
Answer: Because the cross-validation data was on 1056 youth (males and females, 4-19 years), the statistical analysis established separate scoring schemes for different gender and age groups (i.e., 4-12 years; 13-15 years; 16-19 years).
Question: Does the MEGA♪ assess protective factors?
Answer:MEGA♪ is the only risk assessment tool that has incorporated a protective scale and tested on over 2200 youth, males
and females, 4-19 years.
Question: What does it mean when you say, MEGA♪ is an "outcome measure"?
Answer: The MEGA♪ is initially administered to get a "baseline" of risk for sexually abusive behaviors and can then be administered every 6 months assessing the changes in risk over time, thus an "outcome" measure.
Question: How can the MEGA♪ help me when I am assessing a very dangerous offender (someone whose sexual behaviors are potentially lethal)?
Answer: The MEGA♪ differs from other risk assessment tools in that it has four risk levels, one of which assesses for dangerous and very high-risk youth.
Question: Did the construction of MEGA♪ rely on any research findings on risk assessment for adult sex offenders?
Answer: The MEGA♪ meets in the strictest sense, the standard of being an empirically based risk assessment tool, solely on youth.
Question: When should I administer the MEGA♪?
Answer: On first contact with the youth to establish the youth's baseline risk level.
