ABSTRACT
The first juvenile court was founded in 1899 with the focus on rehabilitation of a juvenile offender as opposed to punishment in adult court. Determining culpability and disposition for adolescents has become a source of much discussion. With serious crimes, juvenile delinquents may be transferred from juvenile court to adult criminal court; this practice became more prevalent in the past century. However, growing knowledge of adolescent development has mitigated the culpability of youth offenders and resulted in judicial decisions influential to juvenile dispositions.
Subject(s)
Adolescent Behavior , Adolescent Development , Criminal Law/legislation & jurisprudence , Juvenile Delinquency/legislation & jurisprudence , Adolescent , HumansABSTRACT
This Parameter addresses the key concepts that differentiate the forensic evaluation of children and adolescents from a clinical assessment. There are ethical issues unique to the forensic evaluation, because the forensic evaluator's duty is to the person, court, or agency requesting the evaluation, rather than to the patient. The forensic evaluator clarifies the legal questions to be answered and structures the evaluation to address those issues. The forensic examination may include a review of collateral information, interviews and other assessments of the child or adolescent, and interviews with other relevant informants. The principles in this Parameter suggest the general approach to the forensic evaluation of children and adolescents and are relevant to delinquency, child custody, child maltreatment, personal injury, and other court-ordered and noncourt-ordered evaluations.
