Live Training Available Through CONCEPT Professional Training

Evaluating Juveniles for Competency to Proceed in Delinquency Matters

Join Ivan Kruh, PhD and Christina Riggs Romaine, PhD in November 2025 as they present a live professional training program on conducting Juvenile Competency Evaluations | 14 Hours | 14 CEs.

This training is for clinicians.

In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the competence to proceed of juveniles being adjudicated in juvenile courts. This program focuses on conducting juvenile adjudicative competence evaluations that meet best practice standards.

The training covers foundational issues, including the evolution of legislation regarding juvenile competence and differences in legislation across states. The manner in which these legal standards can be translated into measurable forensic concepts is discussed, with a focus on how these concepts differ between juvenile and adult cases. The current empirical literature relevant to juvenile adjudicative competence is reviewed, with a particular focus on the intersection of adolescent development and court-related functioning.

All of this background set the stage for a detailed discussion of conducting juvenile adjudicative competence evaluations. Preparation for the evaluation and the data collection process is examined, with a particular focus on developmentally sensitive competence interviewing using the Juvenile Adjudicative Competency Interview (JACI), the role of available forensic assessment instruments in juvenile adjudicative competence evaluations, and the importance of third-party corroboration.

Methods for interpretation and integration of data are presented, as well as strategies for effective communication of findings. Throughout this discussion, there is a focus on sensitivity to functional limitations based on normal child development and developmental psychopathology. Juvenile competence remediation is also highlighted. A sample case worked through by participants with structured feedback is used to highlight relevant issues, and the program includes additional activities to assist participants in honing their interviewing, record reviewing, and data interpretation skills.