Most State and Federal prisons use a single risk-focused classification system to assign female and male inmates to an appropriate security level. Women pose very little risk to institutional or community security, and many factors that predict risk in men are invalid predictors of risk in women. Current systems have led to excessive use of overrides in the classification of female inmates. Findings regarding the needs of female offenders for adjustment to prison and for reintegration into the community are clear and consistent. The article recommends a greater focus on needs-based classification for incarcerated women. Systems should be flexible and adaptive, able to respond to changes in inmate populations such as increases in the numbers of women incarcerated for drug offenses or changes in the ethnic composition of inmates. References