1 Answer

According to the Mercyhurst screening instrument, for a youth to be transferred from secure detention to private shelter services, the youth must meet

all of the following criteria: 1) not be detained for a violent offense (including criminal homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, kidnapping, and any felony in which the juvenile is in possession of a firearm or explosive), 2) have never been adjudicated delinquent on the basis of a violent offense, 3) have never absconded from a court-ordered placement, 4) is not subject to a court-order requiring secure placement, and 5) is not a chronic juvenile offender (youth with at least three prior delinquency adjudications arising from separate incidents, where at least one was serious enough to have led to court-ordered residential placement). Risk assessments should permit a certain level of discretion through the availability of overrides based on the professional judgment of staff and the MLSSI also incorporates an override process.