If You Could Read My Mind: Examining the Use of Risk/Needs Assessments with School Age Children

• In Event: Treatment of offenders

Abstract

Given the unprecedented increase in K-12 school violence and disturbance in the United States, a renewed effort is underway to determine ways for early identification of potential young offenders prior to any serious act(s). Unfortunately, there is often a disconnect between those who have much needed expertise and those who are working daily with children in schools and communities. There are many reasons for said disconnect including lack of communication between fields of expertise, many living in academic silos, and the extreme costs sometimes associated with the use of “experts”. The purpose of this presentation is to examine one such attempt which could potentially have significant impact on this issue - the increased use of Risk/Needs Assessments and Inventories with school age children to potentially identify and hopefully prevent future young offenders. Risk/needs assessments are standardized tools that help collect and synthesize information about a youth to estimate that youth’s risks of recidivism and identify other factors that, if treated and changed, can reduce a youth’s likelihood of offending or reoffending. Risk/needs assessments generally categorize youth into one of three levels of risk: low risk, moderate risk, or high risk. Risk/needs assessments are not only designed to inform and guide decisions about estimating a juvenile’s risk of recidivating, but they are also helpful when creating plans for appropriate treatment or services. The presentation will also examine the primary tools used and evaluate their effectiveness and potential increased use. Special focus will be on applying such tools upon an existing author developed database of 78 American incarcerated K-12 school violence perpetrators through in-depth past interviews and surveys. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the pros and cons of the use of such tools in combating K-12 school violence.

Authors

• Gordon A Crews, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

• Catherine E. Burton, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley