2019 Tennessee Code
Title 37 - Juveniles
Chapter 1 - Juvenile Courts and Proceedings
Part 1 - General Provisions
§ 37-1-164. Risk and needs assessment.
(a) A validated risk and needs assessment shall be used in all delinquent cases post disposition in making decisions and recommendations regarding programming and treatment.
(b) The department may make available a validated tool for use by any juvenile court; however, any juvenile court may instead choose to use a different validated tool.
(c) Any risk and needs assessment tool that is adopted by a juvenile court or the department must periodically undergo a validation study to ensure that the risk and needs assessment is predictive of the risk of reoffending of the population on which the tool is being administered.
(d) Each delinquent child ordered to probation supervision under § 37-1-131 or committed to the custody of the department shall undergo a validated risk and needs assessment within seven (7) days of the court's disposition, excluding nonjudicial days, to inform supervision level, referrals to programs and services, and case planning.
(e) In delinquent cases, the court may order that a risk and needs assessment be conducted prior to disposition if there is written agreement from the child, the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian, and, if applicable, the child's attorney. A child may undergo such a risk and needs assessment prior to disposition to identify specific factors that predict a child's likelihood of reoffending and, when appropriately addressed, may reduce the likelihood of reoffending, and the results of the risk and needs assessment shall be provided to the court prior to or at the time of the disposition of the child.
