PREDICTIVE VALIDITY OF THE YOUTH LEVEL OF SERVICE/CASE MANAGEMENT INVENTORY WITH YOUTH WHO HAVE COMMITTED SEXUAL AND NON-SEXUAL OFFENSES The Utility of Professional Override

The predictive validity of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) and the use of professional override were examined in a matched sample of youth who committed sexual (n = 204) and non-sexual (n = 185) offenses. Based on the actuarial score, the YLS/CMI obtained moderate to strong levels of predictive validity for non-violent, violent, sexual, and technical recidivism in both samples of youth. Probation officers always used override to increase risk level classification and did so at a high level for both sexual (n = 151; 74.0%) and non-sexual (n = 77; 41.6%) offending youth. There was a detrimental impact on the predictive validity of the YLS/CMI for youth who received an override adjustment, regardless of offending category. These preliminary findings suggest that the application of override should be carefully considered on instruments such as the YLS/CMI.