Psychological Assessment Services

Overview

Brazos County Juvenile Services provides thorough psychological assessments for youth as requested by the juvenile court system and the juvenile probation department. This department, as well as our counseling department, is managed by the Deputy Director of Psychological / Health Services, which is a Ph.D. level, licensed and certified Psychologist.

In addition, the department employs its own licensed master's level psychologist who conducts many of the psychological assessments. Other assessments are referred-out to clinicians in the community on an as-needed basis.

Reducing the Risk of Reoffending

The purpose of assessments is to identify the treatments, needs, and strengths of each child, to assess the risk for reoffending, and to provide the court with needed information so that appropriate disposition decisions can be made.

Typically, an assessment involves the mental health professional meeting with the referred child and parents and conducting a review of records, a clinical interview, intelligence testing, achievement or educational testing, personality testing, and projective testing.

Recommendations & First Steps

All of this information is used to develop a diagnostic impression and final recommendations for the child that will help the probation department in case planning / management. A thorough assessment is the first step to determining how the department can best meet the needs of the child / family while at the same time determining the best strategy to reduce future offenses and/or risky behavior.