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Validation of the Risk and Resiliency Assessment Tool for Juveniles in the Los Angeles County Probation System
As part of the settlement of a civil suit brought by the Black Probation Officers Association, the Los Angeles County Probation Department was required to allocate resources for the administration of a risk and needs instrument to its juvenile probationers. The parties agreed to stipulate the RAND Corporation as the evaluator of this instrument. After surveying a number of instruments, RAND chose the San Diego Risk and Resiliency Checkup (SDRRC) and conducted a pilot validation assessment of that instrument. RAND found that a youth’s “resiliency score” on the SDRRC (the net sum of risk factors, which have negative values, and protective factors, which have positive values) is significantly related to the youth’s 12-month recidivism rate. The Los Angeles Probation Department has implemented a policy to institutionalize the SDRRC, now referred to as the LARRC, and is developing an automated case plan that will build on the LARRC assessment instrument to provide a more consistent and objective foundation for determining appropriate services based upon the needs of the minor.
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Contents
Chapter One:
Background and Purpose
Chapter Two:
Selecting a Risk and Needs Instrument
Chapter Three:
Validating the Instrument
Chapter Four:
Study Findings
Chapter Five:
Conclusions
Appendix A:
Arrest Rates by Resiliency Score
Appendix B:
San Diego Risk and Resiliency Checkup
Appendix C:
Services Data Form
Appendix D:
Characteristics of the Sample and of All Probation Cases
Appendix E:
Computation of Weights
Appendix F:
Youth and Family Language and Proficiency
Appendix G:
Arrests During Follow-Up, by Resiliency Score and Ethnicity
The research described in this report was conducted within RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment (ISE), a division of the RAND Corporation, for the Los Angeles County Probation Department.
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