Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability: Adolescent Version (START:AV)

Authors:  Jodi L. Viljoen, Tonia L. Nicholls, Keith R. Cruise, Sarah L. Desmarais, & Christopher D. Webster (with contributions from Jennifer Beneteau-Douglas)

The Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability: Adolescent Version (START:AV) structures and guides an individualized assessment of vulnerabilities that contribute to adverse outcomes and the strengths that help protect against them.

Intended for use with male and female adolescents (aged 12 to 18) in mental health and justice settings, the START:AV facilitates a review of an adolescent’s histories and short-term risk for multiple adverse outcomes including harm to others and rule violations (violence, non-violent offences, substance abuse, unauthorized absences) and harm to the adolescent (suicide, non-suicidal self-injury, victimization, health neglect).

START:AV assessments can be used to guide evidence-based intervention-planning, facilitate communication among professionals involved in the adolescent’s care, and provide a framework and common language in developing and monitoring risk and intervention plans.


The following START:AV materials are available:

START:AV User Guide
Contains all the information needed to administer, code, and interpret the START:AV. Each unit contains 1 User Guide.

START:AV Forms
Three START:AV forms (START:AV Summary Sheet, START:AV Comprehensive Rating Form, START:AV Profile Form) are available to users at no additional cost following purchase of the START:AV User Guide