NYSAP partners and associates have 25 years’ of experience conducting, researching, and validating risk assessment instruments. Plus, for 20 years we have assisted juvenile justice agencies with the implementation of risk screening or risk-needs assessments using risk-need-responsivity-based practices for:
Diversion
Probation (intake or pre-disposition)
Corrections, and
Juvenile Forensic Settings/Court Clinics.
Whether your agency is interested in adopting a valid risk-needs assessment or screening instrument for the first time, or wishes to improve its existing assessment practices, we offer consultation and training in both case planning and administering risk screening and assessment instruments.
Consultation Services
We customize our consultation service packages based on your agency’s needs so your risk-needs assessment or screening tool will be used effectively to improve youth and agency outcomes:
Determining Your Needs by assisting your agency with selecting the best instrument for its needs, or improving use of an existing instrument.
Presentations to Collaborators (e.g., judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors, service agencies, staff) to increase buy-in and ensure effective use.
Policy and Procedures Development by working with a group from your agency
Development or Design of ‘Decision-Support Tools’ including a case plan template, disposition recommendations templates, service matrix, and data system modifications.
Facilitating Pilot Testing of the new tool and process.
Training Activities to ensure strong and sustainable implementation by enhancing staff and supervisor competency.
Community Assets Mapping to identify resources that will match youths’ dynamic risk areas/needs, develop an agency-specific multi-tiered services matrix to facilitate targeted referrals based on youth risk/needs and services eligibility criteria, and highlight areas for community capacity development.
Continuous Quality Improvement/Quality Assurance, including development of a quality assurance process and tools, and designing an on-going data-tracking process.
Coaching by teaching supervisors to coach staff in conducting risk-needs assessment and case planning to fidelity.
Training Services
Most training is available either on-site or through remote technology. We offer a variety of options, from basic overview training with agency collaborators for improving implementation, to advanced skill development training on specific risk instruments, risk-need-responsivity, and case planning for staff and supervisors. We offer direct practice, booster, and train-the-trainer training options for all risk-needs assessment, risk screening, and case planning trainings.
Orientation for Agency Collaborators
45-90 minutes | In-Person or Virtual
An orientation for collaborator groups (e.g., frontline staff, probation officers, judges, attorneys, service providers, or administrators) that covers the research evidence for risk-needs assessment/screening and risk-need-responsivity, strategies for implementing this process with success, and facilitators and barriers to implementation.
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Orientation for Service Providers
45-90 minutes | In-Person or Virtual
Our service provider training option is an Orientation for Agency Collaborators that emphasizes how to define specific risk factor areas from the specific risk-needs assessment, the types of services needed to address these factors, and bolstering protective factors. It is strongly encouraged for an effective case planning effort to improve youth outcomes.
Direct Practice Risk Screening/Risk-Needs Assessment Training
2 Days | In-Person or Virtual
A direct practice workshop for staff on a specific risk-needs assessment or risk screening instrument:
YLS/CMI 2.0: Youth Level of Service / Case Management Inventory 2.0
(Hoge & Andrews, 2011)SAVRY: Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth
(Borum, Bartel, & Forth, 2006).ARNA: Arizona Risk-Needs Assessment
(LeCroy et al., 1998; Krysik & LeCroy, 2002)
Workshops cover: adolescent development, research support for the selected instrument, risk-need responsivity, the agency’s relevant procedures for the instrument, interviewing, scoring procedures, and practice cases. We test each participant’s proficiency on the instrument via post-training practice cases before they are certified.
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Risk Screening or Assessment Tool Booster Training
0.5 Day | In-Person or Virtual
We provide half-day training on any ofthe above instruments for current users who completed a two-day workshop at least 6-months prior. Booster training focuses on scoring the respective risk instrument AND how to use it to design a case plan. -
Case Planning Training
0.5 Day | In-Person or Virtual
A training for relevant staff about how to use their risk-needs assessment to inform case plans aligned with risk-need responsivity and positive youth development customized to the agency’s instrument and case plan template. We test each participant’s proficiency in generating case plans via post-training practice cases before they are certified.
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Train the Trainer Options – Risk Screening/Assessment OR Case Planning
3 Days | In-Person
A training for selected agency trainers. Agency trainers should be current staff who have a) been using the risk assessment or completing case plans for at least 6-months, and b) demonstrated proficiency. We provide feedback to the agency trainers as they practice how to conduct the training with each other. -
Coaching or Supervisor Training
3-3.5 Hours | In-Person or Virtual
A training for supervisors or coaches of staff completing risk-needs assessments and case plans. The training includes strategies for effectively building staff skills.
Resources about Risk Assessment & Case Planning
Meet Our Risk Assessment & Case Planning Team
