Juvenile Justice Administrators Understand the Need for The Diana Screen®

The Diana Screen<sup>®</sup> for Juvenile Justice

Administrators must thoroughly screen all new job applicants to prevent hiring anyone who has engaged in sexual abuse.”
PREA Commission

Facts & Figures

  • According to The Bureau of Justice statistics, 10.3% of youth in juvenile correctional facilities reported incidences of staff sexual misconduct
  • 95% of youth who reported sexual abuse in juvenile correctional facilities identified female staff as the perpetrators
  • 40 states, despite using routine criminal background checks, had facilities with rates of sexual abuse by staff ranging from 10-36%

High Rates of Sexual Abuse by Staff Lead to:

  • Congressional oversight
  • Career-ending/facility closing publicity
  • Threats to funding
  • Immeasurable, long-term, trauma for the abused

The Diana Screen® Solution for Juvenile Justice

The Diana Screen® is a child safety screen for job applicants who want to work in juvenile detention settings. It helps identify adults who fail to recognize adult-child sexual boundaries or who are at a high risk for having sexually abused a child in the past, and classifies applicants into two categories of hiring risk.

Up until recently, the best anyone could do to keep individuals like this away from positions of trust with children is to conduct criminal background screenings. But only 6% of child sexual abuse is ever reported to the police. In fact, ChoicePoint reported looking at over 3.5 million background checks and finding only 0.2% that could be identified as sexual offenders.

In contrast, The Diana Screen® does not rely on public records or criminal histories. The Diana Screen® methodology provides much more effective results. Administered to job applicants by the hiring agency, The Diana Screen® is a child safety screen that helps identify adults who fail to recognize adult-child sexual boundaries or who are at a high risk for having sexually abused a child in the past. Because The Diana Screen® does not rely on public records or criminal histories, it does a better job of helping to screen out those individuals who may detract from the safety and welfare of children in custody. The Diana Screen® is dramatically more effective than criminal background checks in protecting children and teens against this risk.

The Diana Screen® Identifies Risk

Helps Screen In:

  • The safest staff to work with youth in custody

Helps Screen Out Applicants Who:

  • Fail to recognize sexual boundaries between adults and youth
  • Are at a high risk to have already sexually abused a child or teen

Is Easy to Use and Fast

  • 5 minutes staff time
  • Questions answered on a computer
  • 4th grade reading level
  • Pass/Fail results immediate

Results You Can Trust

Scientifically Validated
Research from 6 federal grants that led to the publication of numerous peer reviewed articles which support The Diana Screen®.

Independent Legal Review
Thorough Federal and State legal review conducted by National Legal Research Group, Inc.

If you employ adults who work with kids then The Diana Screen® should be part of your hiring practices.”
– Brent Kelley, Director, Robert J. Kinsey Youth Center

For more information about The Diana Screen® or the Abel Screening, Inc. line of Child Protection Products, please Contact Us or call at 1.404.874.4772.

For a list of sources supporting the information on this page, go to References.