Validation of a Risk Assessment Instrument for Juvenile Probationers in Alameda County, California, 1996 (ICPSR 3254)
Version Date: Dec 14, 2001 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
National Council on Crime and Delinquency
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03254.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
This study sought to develop a risk assessment instrument to be used in the placement of adjudicated juveniles and determination of outcomes for juvenile probationers. The following research questions served as a guide in developing the risk assessment instrument: (1) Does the instrument measure what it purports to measure? (2) Do similar cases receive similar recommendations for placement services? (3) Is the instrument fair to dissimilar groups? (4) Is the instrument useful to practitioners? and (5) Will the instrument be simple to implement? The goal of the new risk assessment instrument was to address the relative risk of recidivism without taking into account the severity of the current offense. In order to develop a new risk assessment instrument, researchers adapted a pre-existing instrument that had been used and validated with juvenile probationers in California. The new instrument was used to evaluate youths for three measures of recidivism: intake actions, petitions filed, and petitions sustained through one year after the placement decisions were made. The sample of youths was comprised of those who in 1996 had received either a field supervision or a placement order as a disposition. The instrument measured age at first finding, prior criminal behavior, institutional commitments or placement of 30 consecutive days or more, drug/chemical use, alcohol use, parental skills, school disciplinary problems, and peer relationships.
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Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
This study was undertaken as part of a larger project whereby the Alameda County Probation Department in California sought to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its Juvenile Services Division by implementing a system-wide classification and placement system to address the public concern for safety and effectiveness in dealing with juvenile crimes. The purpose of this study was to develop a risk assessment instrument to be used in the placement of adjudicated juveniles and determination of outcomes for juvenile probationers. The following research questions served as a guide in developing the risk assessment instrument: (1) Does the instrument measure what it purports to measure? (2) Do similar cases receive similar recommendations for placement services? (3) Is the instrument fair to dissimilar groups? (4) Is the instrument useful to practitioners? and (5) Will the instrument be simple to implement?
Study Design View help for Study Design
In order to develop a new risk assessment instrument, researchers adapted a pre-existing instrument that had been used and validated on juvenile probationers in California. The goal of the new risk assessment instrument was to address the relative risk of recidivism without taking into account the severity of the current offense. Nine probation officers consisting of deputies and supervisors were trained using the draft of the new instrument. The instrument was used to evaluate youths for three measures of recidivism: intake actions, petitions filed, and petitions sustained through one year after the placements decisions were made. The sample of youths was comprised of those who in 1996 had received either a field supervision or a placement order as a disposition. Field supervision refers to a sanction in which the youth was maintained and supervised in the community with the aid of weekend programming. Placement refers to any sanction in which the youth was placed out of home (e.g., a group home, camp, or residential treatment).
Sample View help for Sample
Random sampling.
Universe View help for Universe
Juvenile offenders in Alameda County, California, who in 1996 had received either field supervision or a placement order as a disposition.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Source View help for Data Source
administrative records
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
The instrument measured age at first finding, prior criminal behavior, institutional commitments or placement of 30 consecutive days or more, drug/chemical use, alcohol use, parental skills, school disciplinary problems, and peer relationships.
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
Not applicable.
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
None.
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2001-12-14
Version History View help for Version History
- National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Validation of a Risk Assessment Instrument for Juvenile Probationers in Alameda County, California, 1996 . ICPSR03254-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2001. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03254.v1
2001-12-14 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Standardized missing values.
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.