The Missouri Juvenile Offender Classification System represents Missouri's effort to create an objective based decision-making strategy for managing youthful status and law violators referred to juvenile and family courts.

The Office of State Courts Administrator developed the classification system pursuant to Subdivision 4 & 5 of Sections 211.326.1, 211.141.4, and 211.141.5 RSMo. Supp.1995 of the Missouri Juvenile Code.

The complete classification system includes an empirically validated risk assessment for estimating a youthful offender’s relative likelihood of future delinquency, a classification matrix, which links the level of risk with offense severity to recommend graduated sanctions, and a needs assessment for identifying the underlying psychosocial needs of youth. The system also includes a method for assessing juvenile offender adjustment to supervision through the use of a supervision reassessment form, and a set of web-based reports on the risk and needs characteristics of youthful offenders.

Thirty-five of Missouri’s 46 judicial circuits are currently using the system for the purpose of case management decision-making and workload estimation, 20 of which utilize Missouri’s automated case management system (JIS), which provides for an automated version of the classification system.

Funding for development of the classification system was derived from a Missouri Challenge Grant. The construction of the risk and needs assessments and the classification matrix was guided by a Risk Assessment Committee comprised of representatives from Missouri Juvenile and Family Courts, the Missouri Division of Youth Services, the Missouri Juvenile Justice Association, and consulting personnel.

For more information on the Missouri Juvenile Offender Classification System contact Jay Rodieck.