Page 49 - Preventing Youth Violence

factors and support systems. For youth the domains for which data is obtained include

violence history; friends and family; anger, impulsivity and thinking skills; and protective
factors and support system.

The JRA-YV and the JRA-AV are semi-structured questionnaires consisting of 13 and 11

items, respectively. It is important that the case officers/CCMOs who are administering
these instruments have basic training in social work theories and practice as they must

use structured professional judgment when administering the instruments. At this point in
the process a more in-depth interview is conducted with the client and the case officer

documents the details under the specific domains. In this exercise, case officers must
demonstrate good interviewing skills, anchored in basic knowledge of the principles and

theories relating to social work practice. The case officer/ CCMO must establish rapport
with clients, inviting their trust to ensure that the client is going to be truthful about personal

information that is being solicited. It is recommended that the case officer carefully
reviews the client’s Referral/Intake Form and Screener before engaging the individual

because the more information that is known, the CCMO will be able to probe for truthful
responses. Usually, the risk assessment is completed in a single session but at times the

CCMO may have to continue at a later date depending on the client’s frame of mind.
At the end of the risk assessment the client will need to be deemed high or medium/

moderate risk as a basis for proceeding in the programme. Clients who are low-risk are
not eligible for service. However, it is very rare that a client comes out being low-risk for

violence after scoring a ‘4’ on the Screener. The alignment between the outcome of the
assessment and the score from the Screener speaks to the effectiveness of the screening

process. Collateral information on clients’ background and current activities is usually
gathered by the case officer from other sources such as CBOs, friends, family members,

schools, inter alia, to corroborate the self-reported information provided by the client
during the screening and risk assessment processes.

5. Case Plan Development

The next step in the process is determined by the outcome of the risk assessment stage.
Through probing, based on the questions on the risk assessment instrument and active

listening, the case officer is able to determine the risk level of the client. The case officer will

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