County reports fewer juvenile petitions to court after adopting YASI screening

Washington County Human Services presented a youth justice data report showing increased referrals from 2020 through 2024 but a sharp decline in formal petitions to juvenile court after the county adopted an evidence-based screening tool.

Beth (youth justice presenter) told the Health & Human Services Committee that total referrals to youth justice rose about 9% over the four-year span. "On average each year...usually 90 to 95% of that total referral is for delinquency," she said, with the remainder primarily for truancy.

The county reported shifting referral locations: community and home-origin referrals decreased (3% and 8% respectively), while school-based referrals rose 37% from 2020 to 2024. Beth said the 2022 spike likely reflected students returning to in-person schooling after pandemic-related virtual instruction.

The department also reported changes in intake dispositions. Staff said use of deferred prosecution agreements (six-month informal contracts with Human Services) declined modestly, and petitions to juvenile court fell steadily. The presenter attributed much of the decline to implementation of the Youth Assessment Screening Instrument (YASI), a structured risk-assessment tool the county began adopting in 2022. "We really started implementing the YASI risk assessment in 2022...from 2022 to 2024, we decreased youth that went to court by 57%," the presenter said.

Committee members asked how youth who avoid court are served. Beth said intake workers screen for mental health, trauma, family dynamics and substance use; for low-risk youth not opened for formal services, intake workers make community referrals during a roughly 40-day intake window. She said the department coordinates referrals to the county's behavioral health services and to comprehensive community services (CCS) when appropriate.

Supervisors discussed the role of school resource officers and school discipline, the influence of social media on youth behavior (including rapid dissemination of impulsive posts), and how new screening tools change practice compared with the previous COMPASS instrument. Beth and other staff noted that a shift in state oversight from corrections to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) also influenced practice and a push to keep youth treated in community settings rather than in institutional placements.

The committee requested historical comparisons if available and noted a continuing concern about younger children showing up in referrals; staff said intake includes youth aged 11 to 16 and reported a recent increase in 11-year-old referrals this school year.