An expanded role for psychological assessments in juvenile justice systems

This article describes the potential contributions of psychological assessm ents to the processing of youths in juvenile justice and correctional syste ms. Standardized psychological assessment instruments and procedures are sh own to be superior to the informal and unstandardized procedures often empl oyed in these systems, and they are also shown to lead to more effective de cisions about youths. Major types of assessments relevant to juvenile justi ce and correctional systems are reviewed as are models for introducing psyc hological services into the systems.