Juvenile Court Case Management Assessment Process (CMAP)

CMAP emerged in response to the Community Juvenile Accountability Act (CJAA) initiated by the Washington State Legislature in 1997. The legislature was influenced by the "what work's" literature and the intent to fund empirically validated programs to reduce recidivism. The Washington Association of Juvenile Court Administrators (WAJCA), which represents all 33 juvenile court jurisdictions, led this effort. A collaboration with the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP), resulted in an innovative risk and needs assessment was developed: the WAJCA Risk Assessment Tool, which is called the Positive Achievement Change Tool (PACT). Minor revisions have been made over the years. CMAP developed from the idea that information gathered from the assessment can be used to improve case management using the risk, need, and responsivity principle. CMAP is a four-step model for the effective case management of youth under community supervision:

1. Mapping: "Discovery" - administer the risk assessment; build rapport to elicit valid and reliable information.
2. Finding the Hook: "Motivation" - identify incentives and disincentives for change using a Motivational Interviewing (MI) approach; agree on targets, goals, and action steps; and assess for readiness, importance and confidence.
3. Moving Forward: "Intervention" - provide youth with opportunities to build pro-social skills and to increase self-efficacy through evidence programming.
4. Reviewing and Supporting: "Monitor Progress" - increase incentives; remove obstacles; provide reinforcement; teach maintenance strategies; and reassess for change.

Every Juvenile Probation Counselor (JPC) must attend an initial 40-hour CMAP training and be certified every three years. On-going training and technical assistance is provided to each county. WSCCR implements and oversees a number of quality assurance methods to ensure CMAP model fidelity, including:

• Development of state-wide CMAP quality assurance policies
• Ongoing Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) oversight
• Employment of a state CMAP Coordinator
• Certification of state trainers
• Certification of Quality Assurance Specialists (QAS)
• Assistance in local quality assurance plans - each county is required to have a written plan for the implementation of CMAP on the local level.
• Planning and staffing of environmental assessments, which assess the quality of CMAP implementation through regular site visits, where interview and survey data are collected from juvenile court management, staff, and youth.