Assessments and intake processes in juvenile justice processing: Emerging policy considerations

Recent reforms have expanded the possibilities for gathering and sharing in formation during juvenile justice processing and have included calls for co mprehensive assessments of a juvenile referrals. However scant attention ha s been given to questions concerning the timing, goals, or uses of assessme nts; the structure and goals of intake; or the role of assessments at intak e. These questions merit closer investigation because variation in assessme nt or intake goals and practices will likely constrain the efficiency or ef ficacy of juvenile processing. Using interview and survey data from a study of county-level intake processes in Texas, this study identifies and discu sses their policy implications.