Best Practices in the Evaluation of Competence to Stand Trial in Juveniles

20 hours | 20 CEs

This on-demand professional training program on Best Practices in the Evaluation of Competence to Stand Trial in Juveniles is presented by Ivan Kruh, PhD. This badge-earning program can be shared digitally on platforms like LinkedIn or your resume and counts towards a certificate. Enroll in this program to earn credit towards Juvenile Forensic Assessment Certificate and share your new digital credentials with prospective employers and colleagues.

In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the competence to proceed with juveniles being adjudicated in juvenile and adult courts. This program focuses on conducting juvenile adjudicative competence evaluations that meet best practice standards.

The use of cases to highlight relevant issues is emphasized, and the program includes activities to assist participants in honing their interviewing, record reviewing, data interpretation, and report writing skills.

The program covers foundational issues, including the evolution of legislation regarding juvenile competence and differences in legislation across states. The manner in which these legal standards can be translated into measurable forensic concepts is discussed, with a focus on how these concepts differ between juvenile and adult cases. The current empirical literature relevant to juvenile adjudicative competence is reviewed, with a particular focus on the intersection of adolescent development and court-related functioning.

All of this background set the stage for a detailed discussion of conducting juvenile adjudicative competence evaluations. Preparation for the evaluation and the data collection process is examined, with a particular focus on developmentally sensitive competence interviewing, the role of available forensic assessment Instruments in juvenile adjudicative competence evaluations, and the importance of third-party corroboration. Methods for interpretation and integration of data are presented, as well as strategies for effective communication of findings.

Throughout this discussion, there is a focus on sensitivity to functional limitations based on normal child development and developmental psychopathology. Juvenile competence remediation is also highlighted.