JCP RISK Assessment 2006.1
(Revised September 2006)
The following set of interview questions provides a structure for conducting an in-depth risk assessment. This structure is intended to guide the assessor through the domains while building rapport and eliciting information from the youth. The questions we want answered in the JCP assessment touch on sensitive, often difficult and vulnerable topics. It is recommended that the interviewers begin by asking questions that help put the interviewees at ease. Beginning with questions that ask about difficult behavior or that touch on sensitive issues may create an atmosphere not conducive to openness and vulnerability. The interviewer is also encouraged to ask open-ended questions as much as possible. You will elicit more information with each question and your interview will flow better conversationally. With open-ended questions, you will have a better sense of the youth and family and may obtain more accurate information but you may end up asking more questions in order to obtain enough information to accurately answer the questions.
Below
are some sample questions. They are questions to create openings. You will have
to ask more questions based on the answers you receive in order to get the
specific information you desire. You will need to take notes because the
questions do not follow the JCP assessment exactly. The codes in brackets following some of the
questions refer to the number of the risk factor indicator (R), protective factor (PF),
mental health indicator (M), or test
item (T) that can be checked
according to the answer received for these questions.
How
do you like to spend your free time?
Hobbies?
Sports? (These questions look for engagement in productive
activities/protective factors) [PF4.5]
What
kind of music/movies do you like? (Looking for protective factors and
indicators if youth gravitates toward violent media)
Who
do you spend most of your time with? (Looking for a connection with adults,
positive role models) [PF3.1, PF3.4,
PF3.6, PF5.10]
Are
there adults/people in your neighborhood or that you spend time with who are
proud of you and let you know when you do something well? [PF3.6]
Is
there much crime in your neighborhood? Does your neighborhood feel like a safe
place to you? [PF3.7]
What
is scary? Boring? Irritating? Depressing? Etc.
Are
you attending school? [R2.3, R2.4, R2.5,
R2.6]
What
school do you attend? What grade are you in?
Do
you attend any special education classes?
What
kind of grades did you earn on your last report card? Are you failing any classes? What are your usual grades? [R2.2]
What
do you like about school? [PF2.1]
What
do you dislike about school?
What
are your favorite subjects?
What
subjects are most difficult for you? Are
there any subjects with which you receive special help?
Do
you miss much school? How often do you skip classes? Is your skipping impacting
your grades? [R2.3]
Have
you been suspended or expelled in the last 6 months? Last month?
For what were you suspended? [R2.5,
R2.6]
For
what things have you been referred to the principal’s office? [R4.1, C4.2]
What
would you like to study more or get training to do?
Do
you have teachers that let you know when you are doing well in school?
Does
anyone in your family encourage you to do your homework? Or help you with your homework? Do people in your family attend PTA or
special events you have at school? [PF2.7]
What
do you do when you are alone? Do you like being alone? [8.5]
When
do you hang out with friends?
Do
you have friends that get mostly A’s in school? [PF3.4]
What
do you do together? [PF3.1, R3.2]
Do
your friends disapprove of certain kinds of behaviors you do? Which? [PF3.1]
How
long have you known your friends?
Do
your parents know your friends? Do they spend time at your house/home? [R5.2]
Do
you have enemies? Who? What is that about?
Do
your friends pass around stories about other people? What kind of impact does
this have on your group of friends? [R3.2]
Have
any of them been suspended, expelled, or dropped out of school? [R3.3]
Have
any of them been in trouble with the law? What kinds of things have they been
in trouble for? Are any of them on probation or have they been to court? [R3.2, could get to R7.1]
Do
you have friends that carry guns or knives? [R3.2]
In
what ways are your friends good for you?
[PF4.5]
What
kinds of activities are exciting to you? Do you like to take risks? Do you take
dares? What kinds have you taken? When? Have you ever ridden in a car when the
driver has been drinking or using drugs? (Is the youth drawn toward dangerous
activities?) [PF4.5, R4.10, R4.11, T7.6]
Have
you ever done anything that hurt another person? Recently? Do you get into
fights? Have you ever been in a fight with a weapon? How old were you when you
first got into a fight at school? [R4.1, C4.2, R4.8, R4.9, , R4.14]
When
you got into trouble, how much control do you think you had over your
behavior? Did you think about the
consequences before you acted? Have you ever just “blown up” and hurt someone
without thinking about it ahead of time?
[R4.12]
Have
you ever tried to kill someone? When? How? [R4.8,
R4.9]
Have
you ever thought about carrying a knife? How about a gun? What about another
weapon? Why? Where would you get a gun? Have you ever carried a gun? [R4.8, R4.14]
Has
there been a time when you had sex with someone much younger than you? Have you
tried to force someone to have sex with you? [R4.8]
Have
you ever run away from home? When? How many times? How long did you stay away
from home? [R4.6, R4.7]
Are
you close to anyone in your family? Who?
[PF5.10]
What
does a regular day in your family look like for you? [R5.8]
What
do you think about your family’s rules? What are the rules? [R5.2, R5.3]
What
contact do your parents/family members expect from you when you are away from
home? How much of the time do they know where you are? [R5.2]
What
are the rules about drug and alcohol use by you? By them? [R5.2, R5.7]
What
happens when you break the rules? [R5.2]
What
do you like best about your mom/dad? Siblings, other family members, etc.? [PF5.1, PF5.10]
Who
in your family is the hardest to get along with? Who is the easiest? What do you do when you’re not getting
along? Do you ever talk with each other
to work it out? [R5.3]
How
often do you get into fights/disagreements with your siblings or other family
members? What does that usually look like? [R5.3,
R5.8, R5.9]
Who
fights the most in your family? What do the fights look like? Who yells the
most? Has anyone ever been hit? Who is the best at working things out? [R5.3, PF5.1]
How
do you feel about the way your family gets along together? [R5.3, PF5.1]
Does
your family let you know when you do something well?
Who
lives in your home? What relationship are they to you? (If both parents do not
live in the home, probe for where they are and when the youth last saw them). Be
careful to be sensitive to cultural differences here.
Is
there anything that has happened in your family that you feel sad about? Has
another family member hurt anyone? How is your family working that out? Has
anyone ever done anything to hurt you? (Be mindful of mandatory reporting
issues here). [R5.4, R5.6, R5.7,
R5.8, R5.9]
Have
any reports of physical or sexual abuse been filed on your parents or adults
living in your home? (Look at juvenile for signs of physical abuse) [R5.4]
How
are you disciplined at home? Who disciplines you? Why were you disciplined? [R5.2, R5.4]
Have
you been physically hurt by parents or other adults in your home? When? Have
you had sex with any adults in your home? Did you feel forced to do this? How long
ago was this? (If positive response to unreported child abuse, you must report
this to the Child Abuse Hotline) [R5.4]
Has
anyone in your family ever gotten in trouble with the police, the court or with
Services to Children and Families? When? What happened? How are things now? [R5.6]
What
do you think needs to happen for it to be better for your family?
What
do you like best about your family?
Do
you like to party?
What
does partying look like for you? When you go to a party do you usually drink,
take drugs or both? Which ones? How often? What substances do you like best?
Why? How does it make you feel? Do you ever drink and smoke marijuana on the
same day? [R6.1]
How
old were you when you first drank alcohol? Smoked marijuana? Other drugs? [R6.3]
Have
you ever been under the influence while at school? Instead of going to school? [R6.2, R6.4]
What
does partying look like for your friends? For your parents? [R3.2, T3.5, R5.7]
Do
any of your friends or family carry it too far at times? What does that look
like? Have they gotten into trouble or caused some problems by their partying?
How about you? [R3.2, T3.5, R5.7, R6.1,
R6.2]
Has
anyone ever said, or have you ever thought that your parents or any of your
close friends have a substance abuse problem? [T3.5, R5.7]
Do
you have brothers or sisters who drink or use drugs? [R5.7]
Have
you ever stolen anything while your were high?
Have
you committed any other crime while high? Were you caught? [R6.2]
What matters most to
you? Do you have any dreams or goals for
the future? Do you expect to achieve
those goals? Do you think you will be able
to stay out of trouble to get some of the things you want in life? [T7.5]
How do you feel about using
alcohol and other drugs? [R7.1]
Have you ever taken
something without permission? How did
you feel? [T7.2, R7.1]
Do you think it is ok to
steal sometimes? [R7.1]
Do you think it is ever all right to hurt
someone? [R7.1]
Why do you think you committed
this crime? Could you have made a
different choice? (Does youth seem to
accept responsibility for actions, or does s/he blame others, or claim there
was no choice?) [T7.3] How do you think your actions affected
the victim? How do you feel about that? [T7.2]
How do you feel about the
way people treat you in general? Are
they usually friendly, helpful,
respectful? Do they ever seem
hostile? If so, why do you think that is? [T7.4]
How
do you feel right now?
(For
juvenile offenders [if appropriate]): How are you dealing with this arrest?
Have
you felt like hurting yourself? Has that been recently?
Have
you ever done anything to hurt yourself? Tried suicide? How? Why? What
happened? Did you get any help? [M8.1,
R4.10]
Do
you like to watch fires burn? Have you ever started a fire to watch it burn?
Have you set fires that destroyed property? Was this on purpose? [R4.15]
Are
there any pets in your home? Who takes care of them? Have you killed, helped to
kill, or hurt animals? [R4.13]
Have
you ever felt like you were living in a dream? [M8.2, M8.4]
Have
you heard voices when no one else was there? [M8.4]
Have
you ever hallucinated? Were you doing LSD or any other kind of drug when this
happened? [M8.4]
Have
you felt especially sad or been unusually grumpy or hostile for more than a
couple days? [M8.2]
Have
you had difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep for more than a couple
nights? [M8.3]
Have
you had trouble with eating too little or constantly eating? Have you had a
sudden change of appetite? [M8.3]
__________________________________________________________________________
Note 1: If
indicators are not checked within some of the domains on the youth and family
questionnaires, you may need general probing for each domain, such as family
trauma, family criminal record, or school failure and truancy.
Note 2: Some
information should be gathered from records. If records are not available, you
will want to ask the youth or family. Examples of this information include:
·
Diagnosed learning disability or concrete evidence of
cognitive difficulties. [R2.8]
·
Three or more referrals for criminal offenses. [R4.3]
·
Referral for a criminal offense at age 13 or younger. [R4.4]
·
(From record only, do not ask) History of child
abuse/neglect or domestic violence. [R5.4]