Validation of the Ceredigion Youth Screening Tool

• Author: Megan West,Gwyn Griffith,Gareth Norris
• Date: 01 September 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X17752299
• Published date: 01 September 2018
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17752299

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2018, Vol. 62(12) 3727 –3745

© The Author(s) 2018

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X17752299

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Article

Validation of the Ceredigion

Youth Screening Tool

Gareth Norris1, Gwyn Griffith2,

and Megan West2

Abstract

Evidence suggests that only a small minority of youth offenders will continue their

behaviour in the longer term and largely independent of any interventions they

may receive (Bateman, 2011; Haines & Case, 2015). Hence, “screening out” this

larger low-risk cohort could have a positive impact upon the individual through

a reduction in stigmatisation/labelling and free up resources for higher risk

clients. This article outlines development of the Ceredigion Youth Screening Tool

(CYSTEM)—developed and tested to address the two facets of criminality and

vulnerability—closely aligned to the eight key risk indicators identified in the Risk-

Needs-Responsivity (R-N-R) literature (Andrews & Bonta, 2010). Initial results

with two cohorts of 372 young people indicate good convergent and discriminative

validity in screening out the lowest level referrals, while also identifying 90%

of potential future offenders. More importantly, CYSTEM is able to screen out

approximately 35% of the low-risk offenders that are unlikely to require formal

evaluation and/or intervention. It is suggested that the streamlining of this process

using CYSTEM reduces demand on staff time and decreases the stigmatisation of

young people referred for minor offences. Potential improvements to the tool and

future developments in statistical risk prediction are also discussed.

Keywords

screening, youth justice, diversion, assessment, risk

1Aberystwyth University, UK

2Ceredigion Youth Justice and Prevention Service, Aberystwyth, UK

Corresponding Author:

Gareth Norris, Department of Psychology, Aberystwyth University, Ceredigion,

Aberystwyth SY23 3UX, UK.

Email: ggn@aber.ac.uk

752299IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X17752299International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyNorris et al.

research-article2018

3728 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 62(12)

Introduction

The predominant assessment metric currently used in Youth Justice is the ASSET

system, an actuarial risk assessment protocol that evaluates a range of potential

risk factors across twelve domains (Wilson & Hinks, 2011). Compiled during an

interview by trained youth offending team (YOT) workers—along with access to

statutory records such as Social Services registers—individuals are scored on fac-

tors such as living arrangements, substance use, attitudes to offending, and moti-

vation to change. ASSET was recently replaced by ASSET-Plus (circa April 2016);

theoretically and methodologically updated, the latter tool aims to address some of

the shortcomings of the “scaled approach” (Baker, 2015; Youth Justice Board

[YJB], 2013). The key revisions were designed to take ASSET-Plus into a more

contextualised, holistic assessment paradigm, beyond the prescriptive scored

domains of its predecessor (Almond, 2012), although notwithstanding some reser-

vations about how this will manifest itself theoretically and practically (Bishop,

2012; Drake, Fergusson, & Briggs, 2014; Goddard & Myers, 2017; Horney, Tolan,

& Weisburd, 2012).

This article outlines one such initiative—the Ceredigion Youth Screening Tool

(CYSTEM)—which is being used to “screen out” low-risk referrals to youth justice

services with the aim of diverting young people from formal interventions and reduc-

ing caseloads. The creation of this tool was motivated by the need to allocate resources

more effectively; using a simple six-item checklist, approximately 30% of referrals

can be provided with a “light touch” supervision approach without the need for a full

risk assessment. Hence, CYSTEM sits procedurally before ASSET in that it will iden-

tify and “disconnect” those young people from the formal assessment and/or interven-

tion process. The article outlines the testing and validation stages of CYSTEM and the

expected utility of this tool in managing caseloads.

Historically, youth justice has reacted to differing emphasis upon the way young

people interact with society; this is particularly pertinent to the response to antisocial

and/or criminal behaviour (Kelly, 2012; Newburn, 2007; Rock, 2007). The identifica-

tion and management of risk in young people have sought to identify factors (risk and

protective) which allow predictions on later behaviour(s) (see Armstrong et al., 2005;

YJB, 2001). Recent proposals, such as “Positive Youth Justice” have potential to

change the youth justice system by allowing diversionary practices to take into account

“developmental stressors” within the overall framework of youth work generally

(Haines & Case, 2015). CYSTEM was largely developed in response to changing

levels of service provision in Youth Justice and through the recognition that the major-

ity of service users were very low risk. In essence, the screening tool identifies a num-

ber of personal and situational factors to differentiate the cohort in terms of service

requirements; it is used to screen out the likely low-risk offenders, and little or no

further evaluation (e.g., ASSET) and/or interventions are targeted at these young peo-

ple. How best respond to youth crime/antisocial behaviour is twofold: First, creating a

supportive and positive long-term environment for individuals most in need (risk; see

Haines & Case, 2015; Kelly, 2012), and second, managing and targeting increasingly