MAY 1, 2025
Data collected by the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice since fiscal year (FY) 2019 shows notable improvements in risk and protective scores for youth in the agency’s direct care.
The Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument (YASI) is a validated tool that provides an objective assessment of an individual's risk of reoffending using both static and dynamic risk and protective factors in 10 distinct functional domains. DJJ uses YASI to assess the needs of youth when they are committed to the agency’s care. It is used to develop case plans and reassess youth at regular intervals.
The percentage of youth in DJJ’s direct care with higher dynamic protective factor scores from admission to release increased from 50% in FY 2019 to 82% in FY 2024, meaning more youth are experiencing an improvement in their strengths during their direct care stay compared to a few years ago. Similarly, the percentage of direct care youth with reduced dynamic risk factor scores from admission to release increased from 62% in FY 2019 to 84% in FY 2024, meaning more youth are experiencing an improvement in their criminogenic needs during their direct care stay compared to a few years ago. This trend was examined approximately 11 months into FY 2024 and will continue to be monitored.
This encouraging trend signals the effectiveness of rehabilitation services DJJ provides committed youth, including education, vocational training, therapeutic services and interventions tailored to address criminogenic risk by providing individualized, need-based services to residents.
