- •
The use of structured professional judgments is the cornerstone of high-quality forensic evaluations used by the courts to inform legal decisions for adjudicated youth.
- •
A variety of assessment instruments can be administered by clinician evaluators, including psychiatrists, to optimize the quality of adjudicatory assessments.
- •
Child and adolescent psychiatrists are in a unique position to apply their diagnostic acumen and expertise in psychopharmacology to adjudicatory assessments.
- •
Recommended
Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America
The Role of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist in the Adjudicatory Assessment
Section snippets
Key points
Clinical Needs and Diagnostic Assessment
Clinician reports should include a clinical assessment of the youth, including a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual diagnosis if present, prognosis, and an explanation of how the mental health needs influence the youth’s behavior.7 Much has been written about the mental health screening and assessment of youths in juvenile detention and corrections facilities, including the article by Soulier and McBride.8 If such tools have been administered to the youth, the results should be reviewed by the
Scope of Assessment and Evaluator’s Role
The forensic evaluator should only answer the question being asked. Furthermore, the evaluator’s opinion should not go beyond the scope of one’s professional training. The evaluator’s task is to provide information and opinions that may inform legal decisions but not to provide an opinion on the ultimate legal issue.17
Sometimes the clinician providing treatment to a youth within the juvenile justice system is asked to step into the role of forensic evaluator. This dual role should be avoided
Summary
Youths in the juvenile justice system have a high burden of mental illness and courts look to mental health clinicians for guidance to inform legal decisions. Evaluating youth for adjudicatory assessments represents a distinct opportunity for psychiatrists, among other high-skilled clinicians, to comprehensively assess these justice-involved youth for psychiatric diagnosis, risk of recidivism, treatment needs, and treatment amenability. Adjudicated youth are likely to benefit when evaluators
Acknowledgments
The author acknowledges insightful discussions with the Honorable Monica Drinane, the Honorable Daniel Turbow, and Dr Adria Adams, PsyD.
References (45)
- et al.
The voice DISC-IV with incarcerated male youths: prevalence of disorder
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
(2002) - et al.
Practice parameter for child and adolescent forensic evaluation
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
(2011) - et al.
Mental health service provision in juvenile justice facilities: pre- and postrelease psychiatric care
Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am
(2006) Psychopathy and therapeutic pessimism: clinical lore or clinical reality?
Clin Psychol Rev
(2002)- et al.
Transferring juvenile defendants from adult to juvenile court: how Maryland forensic evaluators and judges reach their decisions
J Am Acad Psychiatry Law
(2012) - et al.
Comparison of mental health and legal factors in the disposition outcome of young offenders
Crim Justice Behav
(2000) - et al.
Psychiatric disorders in youth in juvenile detention
Arch Gen Psychiatry
(2002) Managing at-risk juvenile offenders in the community: putting evidenced based principles into practice
(2003)- et al.
Post-adjudicatory assessment of youth
- et al.
Mental health screening and assessment of detained youth
Child Adolesc Psychiatric Clin N Am
(2015)
Why we need mental health screening and assessment in juvenile justice programs
Comprehensive assessment instruments
Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory–adolescent
Millon adolescent clinical inventory
Risk for violence and recidivism assessment tools
Improving professional judgments of risk and amenability in juvenile justice
Future Child
Assessing violence risk among youth
J Clin Psychol
Standardized instruments for assessing risk and need in youthful offenders
Crim Justice Behav
Assessing and managing violence risk in juveniles
Structured assessment of violence risk in youth
Youth level of service/case management inventory
Cited by (2)
Forensic adolescent psychiatry: the care situation in Austria
2023, NeuropsychiatrieJuvenile offenders
2022, Clinical Forensic Psychology: Introductory Perspectives on Offending
The author has nothing to disclose.