Standing Alone in Judgment

In this article, Mark Freado and Howard Bath present the case of an 11 year boy who had been arrested and charged with the murder of his two-year-old cousin. Because of the severity of the criminal charge against this boy, and despite his age, a transfer hearing was set to determine whether he would be tried as a juvenile or an adult. Such transfer hearings, which operate in 46 states, are highly controversial since they revoke the core principle of the juvenile court that decisions be made in the best interests of the child. The Developmental Audit was the key piece of evidence to support the case that this boy should be treated as a child rather than as an adult. This article explains in broad terms that the Developmental Audit addresses two questions: (1) How did this young person's life come to this state of affairs; and (2) what might be done now? The Audit is being applied across a wide range of settings, disciplines, and circumstances involving children and youth in conflict. It is employed in schools for educational planning, behavior assessment, and expulsion hearings. Mental health and social service settings use the Audit as a format for treatment planning and case evaluation. A Developmental Audit makes sense out of a maze of conflicting, incomplete, and often inaccurate records. The final product of a Developmental Audit is a restorative plan which helps answer the essential questions at this critical time in the life of a young person.