Identifying Strengths as Fuel for Change: A Conceptual and Theoretical Framework for the Youth Competency Assessment

Juvenile justice lacks an agreed‐upon assessment tool blending strength‐based approaches with rehabilitative and punitive measures. The recently‐piloted Youth Competency Assessment (YCA) is presented as one way to offer a strength‐based tool compatible with traditional risk‐ and problem‐based approaches. YCA's development and piloting processes are described, and the theoretical underpinnings supporting its three domains are summarized and analyzed.