The assessment of offenders has long been appreciated as an essential function for those who work with offenders. Offender assessment can currently be divided into three "generations." "First-generation" assessments involve the collection of information on offenders and their situations and then interpreting this information based on practitioner knowledge and experience. "Second-generation" assessments involve the use of objective, empirically based offender risk assessments. In such assessments, weights are assigned to various items on risk scales. Risk-needs assessments constitute the "third generation" of assessment. These classification instruments go beyond statistical risk prediction, in which the major purpose is to make decisions about the degree of freedom granted an offender. There is an acceptance of the need to deliver rehabilitation services if risk is to be managed effectively. Recent research has identified a category of needs referred to as criminogenic. Criminogenic needs are linked to criminal behavior; altering these needs changes the likelihood of criminal behavior. The author recommends six steps for guiding the future direction of risk-needs assessment. 6 tables