Incorporating Risk-Need-Responsivity into Juvenile Probation Policies: The Experience of Five Pennsylvania Counties

• In Event: Community Correction Measures and Practices: Classification, Assessment, and Evaluation

Abstract

The Risk-Needs-Responsivity model (RNR) involves evidence-based principles that are intuitive and compelling. However, integrating these principles into the policies that govern routine community corrections practice is a complex challenge. Examining the experiences of five county juvenile probation offices that have participated in a statewide implementation of the YLS/CMI risk/need assessment tool, the paper uses policy documents and staff interviews to examine this issue. By looking across policies in a range of operational domains, including intake, court, case planning, and supervision, the paper examines the extent to which RNR principles have been incorporated in different processes. In doing so, it highlights core policy components that are shared across settings, as well as local policy adaptations that are distinct. It further considers the implications of local policies for the integrity of the RNR model.

Authors

• Joel Miller, Rutgers University

• Carrie Maloney, East Stroudsburg University

• Jesse Brey, Rutgers University

• Courtney S Harding, Temple University