NCJ Number
209944
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 32 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2005 Pages: 329-344
Date Published
June 2005
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study examined the reliability and validity of the Youth Level of Services/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI), designed to assess youth’s risk level and criminogenic needs.
Abstract
Research shows that effective offender rehabilitation requires the appropriate classification of an individual’s criminogenic risk level and needs. The Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI), developed from an adult instrument, is a structured and empirically based instrument found to provide a valid and consistent assessment of criminogenic risk and needs. This study evaluated and explored the YLS/CMI concurrent validity with reference to alternative measures of behavioral adjustment. It used a number of different recidivism outcome measures, including the occurrence of serious re-offenses, time to a new offense, and number of offenses. Participants in the study consisted of 107 juvenile offenders with a mean age of 14.6 years from Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The YLS/CMI was found to possess sound reliability and adequate concurrent and predictive validity for use within the general juvenile offender population. Each youth’s risk and criminogenic needs can be reliably identified across different professional raters, and the risk levels on the YLS/CMI can adequately discriminate between high- and low-risk youth across a number of recidivism outcome measures. References