TITLE:
Sacramento Assessment Center: A Comprehensive Multi-Perspective Model for Effective Assessment of Juvenile Offenders
AUTHORS:
Paul Jenkins, Mark Conroy, Andrew Mendonsa
KEYWORDS:
Adolescent; Assessment; Delinquency; Assessment Center; Juvenile Justice
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.4 No.7,
July
8,
2013
ABSTRACT: The Sacramento Assessment Center is a
residential-based assessment service utilized by the Juvenile Justice system in
Sacramento County, California. This service utilizes a multi-dimensional
approach to assessment, looking closely at ten different areas of functioning,
including psychological, psychiatric, criminological, substance use,
educational, occupational, recreational, social attachment, medical, and
placement adjustment. The paper describes both the rational for and the process
of this assessment, exploring the personnel and tools required to produce this
level of service to adjudicated youth. The general conclusion is that an
extensive, multi-dimensional assessment is an important service to render, in
order to identify criminological needs, specify appropriate placement and
services, and thus make the most efficient use of limited resources available
to serve this population and lower recidivism rates.