Y A S I Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument

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Y A S IYouth Assessment and Screening
Instrument

• www.orbispartners.com

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Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument - YASI
The Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument
(YASI) is a modified version of the Washington
Juvenile Risk Assessment Instrument (CMAP).

• The model has been adapted for use in a number of
  additional jurisdictions by Orbis Partners, Inc.

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Why the Washington Model?

• Strength of instrument design for conducting
  reassessments
• Motivation-based interviewing style
• Inclusion of Protective Factors
• Research is highly supportive of the validity of
  the tool

• Innovative Assessment approach
• Good item definitions with multiple response
  categories as opposed to a checklist format
• Numerous items for the more subjective domains
  (e.g., attitudes and cognitive/social skills)
• User input in design of the tool

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YASI Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument

• The YASI has been customized by Orbis Partners
  for use in a number of new settings
• New York State juvenile probation (New York State
  Division of Probation and Correctional
  Alternatives)
• Illinois juvenile probation (Administrative
  Office of the Illinois Courts
• Illinois status offenders and delinquency
  prevention services (Illinois Department of Human
  Services)
• North Dakota juvenile probation (North Dakota
  Juvenile Court)
• Berrien County juvenile probation (Berrien
  County, Michigan)

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Pre-Screen and Full Assessment Versions
Pre-Screens provide an initial determination of
risk, while full assessments provide detailed
risk and protective factor profiles for case
planning purposes

• Full Assessment (85 Items)
• Legal History
• Family
• School
• Community/Peers
• Substance Abuse
• Mental Health
• Attitudes
• Skills (Social/Cognitive)
• Use of Free Time
• Employment

• Pre-Screen (32 Items)
• Legal History
• Family
• School
• Community/Peers
• Substance Abuse
• Mental Health
• Attitudes

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Utility of the Pre-Screen
Based on triage principles, the use of a
pre-screen is an efficient method for identifying
higher risk youth who will need more thorough
assessment and subsequent services/interventions
at intensive levels.
Low risk youth who do not require intensive
services are quickly identified using the
pre-screen items a sub-set of the full
assessment protocol.
Full Assessments are recommended for youth who
score moderate or high risk on the
pre-screen. The full assessment provides a
graphic profile of both risk and protective
factors (strengths).
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Summarizing
The full assessment wheel is a helpful for
summarizing all scores generated by YASI. Risk
is shown on the outer wheel, protective
factorson the inner wheel.
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The YASI Profile Wheel
Risk Factors
Risk Factors
H
1 Legal History
L
2 Family/Environment
H
Risk Factors
10 Use of Free Time
Risk Factors
Overall Scores
L
L
Overall Risk Level
9 Employ-ment
H
M
3 School
L
0
Overall Protective Factors
Protective Factors
4 Community/Peer
L
L
8Skills
H
H
Static/Dynamic Summary
0
0
7 Attitudes/Behavior
5Alcohol/Drugs
Risk Factors
Dynamic Risk
Static Risk
Risk Factors
6MentalHealth
VH
H
H
H
Static Protective Factors
Dynamic Protective Factors
M
Risk Factors
0
L
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YASI Profile Wheel

• Using software, the results are displayed in a
  graphic style - this encourages well informed
  case analysis that will lead to appropriate
  supervision planning.
• Using the generated profile, the results can be
  easily shared with referral agents and other
  service providers involved in serving the youth.

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Importance of Dynamic Scores

• The YASI emphasizes dynamic risk scores in a
  reassessment context that monitors needs and
  protective factors over the course of
  supervision. The goal is to provide important
  feedback for adjusting case plans in a dynamic
  way
• Reassessments are easily facilitated through the
  YASI software and results for individual youth
  can be examined and compared over time

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Monitoring Progress Using Dynamic Scores

• Multiple Levels
• None
• Low
• Low Moderate
• Moderate
• Moderate High
• High
• Very High

For overall dynamic Scores on Risk and Protective
Factors, YASI is designed to display up to six
levels for greater sensitivity in detecting
change after reassessment.
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YASI Software

• Point and Click Assessment
• YASI Software is easy to use
• Excellent graphic presentation of results in
  seconds
• Various utilities for printing results and
  aggregating data for agency statistical purposes
• Based on an MS ACCESS 2000/2002 platform
• Excellent Toll Free Support for Users

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YASI navigation screens are clearly labeled and
easy to follow
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Entering YASI Pre-Screen and Full Assessment Data
Click a Help Box (?) to see more detailed
definitions of YASI Items Item Completion
Indicators provide users with feedback on how
many YASI items have been completed
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Case Planning Capability

• The YASI Software includes an integrated case
  planning component
• The case planning function is driven by the
  assessment results
• Case management activities can also be recorded
  with the software (e.g., record referrals,
  completion of programs, action plans, etc.)

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YASI Results and Case Planning Functions
The software provides for narrative input on the
case plan. An additional module can be opened to
record action plans, services, interven-tions.
Using the YASI wheel, users display results, then
click on the risk and protective factors that
will become priority areas for the case plan.
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Training

• Orbis Partners provides a dynamic training team
  and delivers well-designed training materials to
  motivate staff
• Training includes an initial 2-day session where
  staff learn to administer the YASI
• A 2-day Follow-up Training focuses on practical
  skills to use the YASI for case planning purposes
• The research-based What Works model serves as
  the foundation of all training

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Implementation

• Implementation support is essential to the
  success of the YASI model Orbis team members
  remain involved to help agencies derive maximum
  use from the tool
• Ongoing coaching provides agencies with the
  ability to explore new applications for the tool
• Software and technical support (e.g.,
  interpretation of results, etc.) is provided
  through toll free support

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Research

• A research-based philosophy informs all of our
  work
• Research services focus on validation of YASI
  scores and adjustments to cutoffs to ensure
  optimal predictive utility
• An important component of the YASI implementation
  involves assisting managers to generate the
  critical statistical information they need from
  the YASI database (e.g., reporting on outcomes,
  statistics for grant applications, etc.)

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Development

• A number of software enhancements are currently
  in the design stages
• Automated narrative reports for pre-sentence or
  social histories will be generated with the YASI
  software.
• A Detention Screening tab will be added to aid
  decision-making about detaining youth.
• Information management workshops to help managers
  generate and display YASI data in effective ways.
• A similar adult offender assessment model has
  been developed for use in probation, parole, and
  other adult correctional settings.

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Frequently Asked Questions
On the following slides we address some of the
questions that users, managers, and other service
providers have about the YASI.
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How does YASI differ from the CMAP juvenile risk
assessment tool used in Washington State?
The YASI is based on the Washington model
with the same item formats and general features
that make the model attractive in juvenile
assessment settings. However, the YASI has been
modified to reflect differences across
jurisdictions. In addition, the YASI uses
somewhat fewer items, with streamlining in some
sections. The YASI has a unique format for
reporting on the results of the assessment -
using the YASI Wheel.
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Who owns the YASI?
The model on which the YASI is based was
developed by the Washington State Institute of
Public Policy in collaboration with the
Washington State Association of Juvenile Court
Administrators. The model is considered a
public domain tool. Other jurisdictions have
customized the tool to fit their youth service
programs and reflect differences in juvenile
justice processing. Orbis Partners provides
training, implementation assistance, software,
and research services to support the use of the
YASI by a number of jurisdictions.
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Who administers the YASI?
For the most part, the YASI is completed by
juvenile probation officers, youth service
workers, case management officers, and other
service providers responsible for serving the
needs of supervision troubled youth. Ideally,
the YASI should be completed by the professional
most involved in coordinating services for the
case. Reassessments can be completed by other
service providers who are in a position to assess
progress.
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What sources of information are used to complete
a YASI assessment?
The YASI is based on multiple sources of
information about the youth. An interview with
the youth, and often with parents, forms the
foundation of the assessment. However, the
information from the interview is supplemented by
official records, social histories, school
reports, police reports, mental health service
providers, and any other relevant information
source that can be identified.
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How long does it take to complete a YASI
assessment?
Obviously, the amount of time to complete
the assessment varies from one client to the
next. With respect to the youth interview,
pre-screens can be completed in 15 to 30 minutes
for the majority of cases. Full assessments may
take from 30 to 60 minutes. All of the
pre-screen items are contained in the full
assessment. Once the pre-screen is completed,
the remaining full assessment items can usually
be completed more quickly.
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Why do the YASI items have multiple choice
response categories?
Multiple response categories are used for
many of the dynamic items in the assessment
battery. This method is especially sensitive to
detecting changes over time. Rather than using a
forced choice format(yes/no), the dynamic items
assume that problems and strengths are best
measured in gradations. Change over time
usually reflects modest increments on the YASI
items e.g., a problem may not go away entirely,
but may improve somewhat over the course of
supervision. The use of multiple choice
responses helps identify those changes, however
modest.
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Why does the YASI look so long?
The YASI is very comprehensive. Generally,
the full assessment is longer than most other
available tools for juvenile assessment (e.g.,
about 90 items). However, the Pre-Screen, which
is used to establish overall risk levels and
predict recidivism, is generally shorter (e.g.,
about 30 items). Since the full assessment is
more thorough, it is generally used to provide a
greater detail in profiles of youth who will
receive more intensive services/interventions
(i.e. higher risk).
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Is all of that detail really necessary for a YASI
full assessment?
For prediction purposes all of that detail
is not really necessary. The pre-screen does a
good job of predicting recidivism in youth
populations. However, the full assessment gives
a clearer picture of what needs to happen at the
intervention level in order to reduce recidivism.
Many of the YASI items are phrased in a way that
provides behavioral targets for the case plan and
helps pinpoint the objectives for how the youth
needs to change over the course of probation or
youth services. The detail in the items reflects
the case management model on which the assessment
is based.
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Is the YASI strictly a juvenile justice tool?
The YASI works very well in juvenile justice
settings where the objective is to prevent
delinquency recidivism. However, the YASI is
sufficiently comprehensive to work in other youth
service settings that serve high risk kids who
tend to present with multiple problems. The YASI
can provide strong social history information and
assess dynamic targets that are likely to become
the focus of service in an array of youth service
contexts delinquency prevention, substance
abuse services, foster placements, child welfare,
family services, truancy programs, attendance
centers, homeless services, etc..
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Why are protective factors included in a risk
assessment?
Protective factors are strengths or assets
that help reduce negative outcomes. These
include family strengths, attachments to school,
academic performance, positive peer influences,
community involvement, healthy leisure pursuits,
problem-solving skills, positive attitudinal
dispositions, and many other strengths. Youth
who exhibit high adjustment and fewer negative
outcomes (e.g., violence, substance abuse, school
failure, etc.) display more protective factors
than youth who are experiencing difficulties. As
such, protective factors provide highly relevant
information when conducting assessments with high
risk youth.
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Aren't protective factors just the flip-side of
risk factors?
In many respects protective factors or
strengths are the flip-side of risk. Often the
two are highly correlated i.e., being high risk
in an area like school often implies having less
strength in that area too. However, in many
cases youth display elements of both risk and
strengths in areas like school, family, peer
relationships, etc. In such cases, knowing about
strengths in addition to risk provides a fuller
picture. Promising new research now points to the
potential for strengths to buffer the negative
effects of risk by helping to reduce negative
outcomes even when risk factors are present.
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What are the potential applications of the YASI?
The YASI has a variety of potential
applications in juvenile probation, corrections,
and other youth service settings. YASI results
can help set contact levels for probation cases,
assist in decisions regarding supervision of
cases in community and custodial settings,
identify needs and strengths to target in service
plans, select appropriate candidates for focused
programs (e.g., family services, cognitive
skills, etc.), monitor progress over the course
of service, adjust supervision levels over time,
and gather information about the characteristics
of a service population.
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How valid is the YASI?
Validity usually refers to the ability of an
instrument to predict outcomes (e.g., recidivism
in juvenile justice settings). The content of
the YASI reflects many years of accumulated
research on the predictors of outcome in juvenile
justice and correctional populations. As such,
the results of the assessment have produced
strong evidence of the predictability of the
tool. The following slides provide examples of
some of the data that has been generated using
the model in Washington, New York, and Illinois.
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Recidivism Rates by Risk Level (Washington Sate
Sample Size 10,046)
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18-Month Felony and Misdemeanor Recidivism Rate
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20
10
Risk Level
0
Low
Moderate
High
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New Legal Involvement by Risk and Protective
Factors Combined Illinois Department of Human
Service Sample
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Referrals for Petition by YASI Risk Levels
()New York State Juvenile Probation Sample
(n1654)
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How much does the YASI cost per administration?
Because the tool is based on a public domain
assessment model, there are no per
administration costs each time the YASI is used
to complete an assessment.
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How much does the YASI software cost?
Software for completing the YASI is
available from Orbis Partners, Inc. The software
is not sold or licensed separately from other
services that are provided to support the use of
the YASI. Normally, Orbis provides the software
as part of a bundle of services that includes
training, implementation support,
research/validation, and software.
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Where do I get YASI training?
Training for the administration and use of
the YASI is provided by Orbis Partners. Training
is provided on a frequent basis. Normally,
training is arranged as part of a larger
implementation of the YASI in a jurisdiction.
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Orbis Partners, Inc. Who are we?
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Visit us at www.orbispartners.comOrbis
Partners, Inc.111 Colonnade Road North, Suite
207Ottawa, CanadaK2E 7M3613-236-0773613-236-3
433 (Fax)
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Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument