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Standards for Forensic Assessment

The medical, psychological or psychiatric report of young persons for Court purposes has substantial differences from evaluations for treatment purposes or for other assessments. Forensic assessments entail the application of medical, psychological or psychiatric knowledge to specific problems of law in legal settings.

In keeping with the Declaration of Principle of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and bearing in mind the apparently adversarial nature of the legal setting, the forensic opinion will not necessarily be in the interests of the youth. Differences between assessment for treatment purposes and for forensic purposes may be summarized under the following four categories:

Goal of the Assessment

The goal of a forensic assessment is to provide a medical, psychiatric or psychological assessment to assist the Court in its deliberations. While treatment issues may emerge in the assessment process, the primary purpose is legal and not medical or psychological.

Role

The role of the forensic examiner is to assist the Court. No therapeutic relationship exists between the forensic examiner and the evaluee.

Confidentiality

Unlike most communications between a "patient" and therapist, the assessments conducted for forensic purposes have limited confidentiality. To be effective, reports must include sufficient personal information about the young person, their family and their social milieu to assist the Court in reaching a decision. Personal information will be given to the Judge, Defence Counsel and Crown Counsel and an "Executive Summary" will be often given to probation officers assigned to the youth. While the Youth Criminal Justice Act has strict provisions regarding dissemination of confidential materials, in practice it has been noted that these "confidential reports" may find their way to persons not originally intended as recipients. The author of the report needs to be sensitive to that possibility.

Ethical Issues

Ethical guidelines for medical, psychiatric and psychological practice rely primarily on a model emphasizing benefit to the person receiving the services. At times, benefit for the patient may be in conflict with other values, such as protection of the public. Within any ethical model, there is a requirement to balance potentially competing values. Forensic practice demands a different weighting in the balance of the competing values that may meet the interests of the youth and his or her family versus the interests of society and, in particular, the Court needs. While the interests of the evaluees are generally subordinate to the interests of justice and the Court proceedings, the clinician must always maintain a respect for persons and attempt to balance the interests to minimize any harm to the evaluee.