Assessment | Contextual Functioning

Identifying troubled youth is the first step in providing them with appropriate treatment. To take that first step, juvenile justice professionals need reliable screening and assessment instruments and practical guidance in their effective use.

Screening and Assessing Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Among Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: A Resource Guide for Practitioners

The context in which screening or assessment is performed should receive special consideration when selecting instruments. An instrument that requires certain resources might work well at one point in the system but might not be at all feasible for use at another point. Moreover, the importance of identifying a particular type of disorder or problem may vary from one point in the system to the next.

A number of factors require consideration when reviewing instruments for use in a particular context. The context in which screening or assessment is performed should receive special consideration when selecting instruments. An instrument that requires certain resources might work well at one point in the system but might not be at all feasible for use at another point.

Moreover, the importance of identifying a particular type of disorder or problem may vary from one point in the system to the next. A number of factors require consideration when reviewing instruments for use in a particular context.

Learn More | An IHBT Overview

Contextual Functioning in Assessment focuses on the following:
– How is youth functioning in key life domains?
– How do family functioning and interactions impact youth behaviors and emotions?
– What system dynamics are barriers to the youth and family’s success?
– What accommodations are necessary for youth’s success?

Assess:
– Risk and protective factors per life domain
– Recovery and resiliency environments: supports and barriersInteractions, influences, systemic dynamics

Tools:
– Risk and Protective Factor Checklist
– Contextual Map