Working Toward Fair Outcomes: Assessing the Risk of Youth Violence

If we want a juvenile justice system that is as fair as possible, we must look to research and data to inform us.

That is what Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Rhonda Wood firmly believes. Over the years, she has played a key role in juvenile justice in the state as a lawyer, a juvenile judge in Faulkner County, and now the Chair of the Arkansas Supreme Court Commission on Children, Youth, and Families.

The Commission works to ensure the safety and well-being of young people and families involved in Arkansas courts. To do so, it brings together stakeholders from various sectors to collaboratively address issues in juvenile justice.

Under Justice Wood's leadership, it adopted a strategic, evidence-based approach to evaluating the risk of violence in a young person, using research on adolescent behavior and development.

The assessment tool, known as SAVRY (Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth), guides decisions about possible interventions and how to best support young people who are headed down the wrong path, while reducing their chances of future offenses. Statewide rollout of SAVRY involved retraining every juvenile officer. Despite challenges, the effort laid a solid foundation for reform and played a pivotal role in balancing rehabilitation and public safety.

Another initiative, funded by a grant, has enabled the Commission to track juvenile arrest data by race, gender, and ethnicity across five counties. It focused on non-violent offenses, such as curfew violations, to try to identify and address disparities.

Justice Wood emphasizes the importance of an objective, validated tool to guide law enforcement officers as well in deciding whether to cite a juvenile, detain them, or release them into community care.

"What we never want is for them to be making those decisions based on what they look like or what they are wearing," she explains.

She identifies several disturbing trends in juvenile crime, including the rising use of guns among young people and an increase in violent juvenile groups. One promising initiative she highlights is the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) program in Pine Bluff. This program targets at-risk juveniles and their families through direct engagement, emphasizing the severe consequences of violence to them and providing support and alternatives.

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Justice Wood advocates for conflict resolution programs in schools to address violence at an early stage. Teaching students how to resolve conflicts peacefully can prevent the escalation of minor disputes into serious altercations. Peer mediation programs, which have shown success in other regions, could be a valuable addition to Arkansas schools, she says. These programs empower students to manage conflicts constructively, promoting a safer and more supportive school environment.

Another trend is a notable shift in the types of drugs juveniles are using. Heroin use among young people is on the rise, Wood notes. For juveniles struggling with substance abuse, she underscores the need for more age appropriate support services. Sending young people to adult groups often exposes them to negative influences rather than providing the intended support.

Without dedicated resources and funding, many juveniles do not receive the treatment they need, exacerbating their issues and increasing the likelihood of continued substance abuse and legal troubles.

The importance of appropriate interventions for juveniles involved in the justice system cannot be overstated, she says. The balance lies in providing the necessary treatment without isolating young people for too long. The extended periods of separation that occur when juveniles are in detention facilities can impede their reintegration into the community, leaving them ill-equipped to handle their environment upon return.

Once juveniles are released, they often return to the same environments that contributed to their initial problems. Justice Wood says support from the community is essential for their successful reintegration. Developing strong ties to positive community members and organizations can help them feel accepted and valued, reducing the likelihood of reoffending.

Probation and community-based programs offer alternative pathways for rehabilitation without the negative impacts of incarceration, she explains.

Helping Low-Risk Juveniles

In Benton County, Juvenile Judge Tom Smith and Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Drew Shover believe treating low-risk juveniles like high-risk offenders can have detrimental effects.

“You can actually turn low-risk kids into high-risk by just how you treat them,” says Judge Smith.

Shover, who also chairs the data committee of the Commission on Children, Youth, and Families, says assessments play a vital role in determining the appropriate level of intervention and preventing low-risk juveniles from becoming entrenched in the criminal justice system.

“You have to know when to do less, and you have to know when to do more,” adds Shover. “The intake officers are very talented and our diversions are very successful. Our diversion officer is very in tune with doing the least restrictive means possible and our team is constantly talking about which cases are going where and if they’re having difficulties.”

The Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative promotes a data-driven approach that connects at-risk youth with appropriate resources and alternatives to confinement, without jeopardizing public safety.

Judge Smith says the focus of the initiative is to assess children and find the right services while sending only violent, high-risk kids to secure facilities.

“The outlook of what we’re trying to achieve in these types of cases has changed significantly,” explains Judge Smith. “When I first started this in the 90s, handling juvenile cases was entirely different. We were locking up kids left and right for not going to school. That was the expected response from schools and the judges.”

Judge Smith thinks that assessments are crucial in determining whether a youth is acting out of impulsiveness or if they pose a genuine threat. The assessments help in deciding the appropriate course of action and ensuring that the response is tailored to the individual circumstances.

“Collecting data doesn’t just give you your decision,” adds Shover. “It also highlights if you’re doing something right or wrong. We’re able to use our data on a regular basis. And we run 90% plus on success rates for those diversions. These juveniles don’t reoffend and they stay out of court."

"So I think with all that hard work of getting kids out as quickly as possible, it allows us to spend time on those juveniles that do reoffend and have more serious crimes and are at risk to go straight from the juvenile system into the adult system.”