Research and Evaluation Services for the Vulnerabilty Assessment Instrument

The purpose of this proposal is to outline the process for validating and enhancing validity evidence of the Vulnerability Assessment Instrument used by the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) in Kentucky. As of the 2011 detention population raw data file, there were 7,980 juvenile intakes in Kentucky resulting in 126,834 facility days. The average age of the population was 16 and charges ranged from murder, assault, to shoplifting indicating varying degrees of behavior for juveniles residing in group facilities. Therefore, the overarching goal is to provide research to support the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) through instrumentation that can be used nationally to reduce prison violence