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This quasi-experimental, pre-post study investigated the sustainability of risk-needs assessment (RNA) and the risk-need-responsivity (RNR) practices in five juvenile probation offices across two states 7 years after rigorous implementation. The study evaluated adherence to practices and facilitators of sustainability via interviews with leadership (N = 10) and probation officers (N = 84) and a seventh-year cohort of youth propensity score matched to a cohort from the first year of implementation (n = 730 per state cohort). Probation officers in both states reported relatively high adherence to RNR-based practices, and one state significantly improved adherence to its RNA administration policies and the risk principle. Adherence to the risk principle in placement and service referral decisions regressed in the other state. Essential ingredients for sustainment included maintaining staff training and monitoring, evolving RNR practices through the adoption of complementary evidence-based practices, and having court personnel who enable best practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the feasibility of and fidelity to risk/needs assessment, mental health screening, and risk-need-responsivity (RNR)-based case planning within juvenile probation in two states. The researcher-guided implementation effort included the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-2 (MAYSI-2), Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY), and policies to prioritize criminogenic needs while using mental health services only when warranted. Data from 53 probation officers (POs) and 553 youths indicated three of five offices had high fidelity to administration and case planning policies. The interrater reliability (n = 85; intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC][A, 1] =.92 [Northern state] and.80 [Southern state]) and predictive validity (n = 455; Exp[B] = 1.83) of SAVRY risk ratings were significant. There was an overreliance on mental health services; 48% of youth received these referrals when only 20% screened as having mental health needs. Barriers to fidelity to RNR practices in some offices included assessments not being conducted before disposition, lack of service availability, and limited buy-in from a few stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]