Does Court Supervision Reduce Recidivism Risk?

• In Event: Innovative Applications of Risk Assessment in the Juvenile Justice System

Abstract

The dominant framework of offender rehabilitation is the Risk-Need-Responsivity model. The juvenile justice literature largely emphasizes the importance of using risk assessment to identify youths’ criminogenic needs to effectively reduce risk of recidivism. Many courts employ this strategy, yet few studies have used risk assessment to examine whether being under court supervision actually reduces recidivism risk. The current study used a well-established juvenile risk assessment, Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory, to investigate changes in risk score across two time points—at the beginning of court supervision, and upon completion of court supervision. In addition to examining changes in overall risk score, the authors investigated changes in specific criminogenic needs (e.g., education) for youth assigned to court programs (e.g., Truancy). Furthermore, the authors evaluated whether recidivism rates and changes in risk score varied by level of supervision (e.g., number of programs). The current study analyzed archival risk assessment and program intervention data (N = 360) that was collected at a Midwestern juvenile court. Results demonstrated that risk scores significantly decreased between entry and upon exit from court supervision, however the size of the effect varied by court intervention. Future research directions and implications for conducting comprehensive evaluations are discussed.

Authors

• Ashlee Barnes, Michigan State University

• William Davidson, Michigan State University