	Juvenile Justice Day Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-JJD 1: Engagement and Assessment

The agency contacts youth promptly, and conducts assessments that identify risks, needs, and strengths and are the basis for service planning and delivery.

Interpretation: COA recognizes that youth may be screened and assessed elsewhere before they are referred to the agency. However, the agency can still take steps to further evaluate youth after referral. At minimum, the agency should review the results of previous assessments to ensure they meet COA’s standards, and conduct additional assessments if those done previously are insufficient.

PA-JJD 1.01

The agency responds to referrals by:

contacting youth promptly, within specified timeframes; and
evaluating youth to identify any urgent risks and needs and determine whether youth are appropriate for the program.

Interpretation: When youth are deemed inappropriate the agency should transfer them to more appropriate programs, or advocate for transfer with the court or another relevant party with jurisdiction over youth. Agencies required by contract to accept all referrals may not be able to advocate for transfer, and should make every effort to ensure youth are referred to them only when services and supervision provided are a good match for youth, as referenced in PA-JJD 4.01.

When another party (such as the court) determines the date youth are to report to the program, it may not be relevant for the agency to contact youth. However, the agency should follow up if youth do not report as scheduled, and should still evaluate youths’ appropriateness.

PA-JJD 1.02

Comprehensive assessments are conducted in a standardized manner, and identify:

youths’ problems and needs;
youths’ strengths and assets; and
risks youth pose to the community.

Interpretation: Relevant areas to consider include a youth’s social skills and behavior, physical and mental health, substance use, family, education, and vocation. Special attention should be paid to any concerns identified in previous screenings and assessments.

When possible, assessments should be based on multiple sources of information, including youth interviews, observations of youths’ behavior, interviews with family members and previous service providers, and case records. Agencies that do not have the resources to comprehensively assess all youth in all relevant areas, for example, mental health, may conduct systematic service need screenings to determine when youth are in need of more in-depth assessments.

When a program is designed to provide less-intensive day services, it may be appropriate to complete a more minimal assessment.

Note: Refer to the Assessment Matrix for further guidance on assessment criteria. The elements of the matrix can be tailored according to the needs of specific individuals or service design.

PA-JJD 1.03

Personnel who conduct assessments are qualified by relevant training, skill, and experience, and can recognize youth with special needs.

PA-JJD 1.04

When youth are in need of further evaluation, the agency promptly provides or arranges for specialized assessments.

PA-JJD 1.05

Assessments are conducted in a responsive manner that includes attention to age, developmental level, gender, language, culture, race, ethnicity, religion, geographic location, sexual orientation, and trauma history.

PA-JJD 1.06

Assessments are conducted within specified timeframes and are updated periodically.

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	PURPOSE: Juvenile Justice Day Services promote public safety and reduce the need for out-of-home placements by allowing youth to reside in their communities while they address problems and develop the attitudes and skills needed to make responsible choices, avoid negative behaviors, and become productive, connected, and law-abiding members of their communities.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	CONNECTED The means by which individuals access services that may or may not be provided by the organization itself. These terms are used interchangeably when individuals are connected to services either directly or by referral. See also LINKED.


	ASSESSMENT An evaluation, which utilizes professional expertise and skills in the collection and analysis of data to understand and describe the nature of service needs of an individual, family, or group. Assessment, as in needs assessment, is also used to determine priorities of program planning and service development for the organization as a whole. See also DIAGNOSIS.


	PLANNING The process of specifying objectives, evaluating the means for their achievement, and exercising deliberate decision making about appropriate courses of action.


	REFERRALS Resource suggestions provided to consumers to address problems or needs that are beyond the scope of the organization's mission.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	CONTRACT A formal written agreement between two or more parties that specifies the services, space, or products to be provided in exchange for some form of compensation. Also known as "purchase of service arrangement."


	SUPERVISION Assumption of responsibility for directly overseeing and evaluating the work or work products of personnel within an organization. Also includes inspecting the act or process of accomplishing a function or activity.


	APPROPRIATENESS The degree to which a particular service, placement, treatment, intervention, or activity is: best suited to an individual's needs; not excessive, unduly intrusive, or restrictive; anticipated to be effective in achieving the desired and specified outcomes; and adequate or sufficient in quantity to address the problem.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	CASE RECORD A written compilation that describes the client and the services delivered. Records can be in hard copy and/or electronic format. The case record can be used as a source of information for quality improvement or other evaluation activities, for research purposes, or to demonstrate accountability to funding bodies.


	PERSONNEL The body of employees and/or volunteers that carries out the organization's tasks under the organization's administration and/or supervision. This definition does not include foster parents who are specifically referenced in relevant standards


	TRAINING Instruction so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient in a skill or body of knowledge.


	SPECIAL NEEDS A designation used in reference to conditions or characteristics of a person that reflect a need for special care, services, or treatment. When the term is used in the context of adoption services, special needs refers to conditions that make a child harder to place for adoption. This includes children who are members of sibling groups, older children, children with disabilities, children of certain racial /ethnic backgrounds, etc. When the term is used in the context of foster care it refers to the need for a higher degree of specialized case services and attention due to mental and physical disabilities. When the term is used in the context of out-of-school time services, a child or youth may have special physical, behavioral, medical, emotional, or cognitive needs that should be addressed or accommodated. The term is also used in other contexts. See also DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES.


	EVALUATION The review and assessment of organizational operations, programs and services.


	CULTURE The customs, habits, values, skills, technology, beliefs, and religious, social, and political behaviors of a group of people in a specific period of time.


	ETHNICITY An orientation toward and identification with a population group that shares national origin, religion, race, or language.