The Business of Practice

How Can Online Staff Psychology Training Workshops Address the Dusky Standard's Application to Juvenile Adjudicative Competence Interview (JACI) Findings?

Written by Annika Nagy | Nov 12, 2026, 9:57:58 PM
Every young person facing charges has the right to understand what is happening in court and to help with their own defense. Juvenile courts, like adult courts, must determine whether a youth meets that standard — known as the Dusky standard — before a case can move forward. The Juvenile Adjudicative Competence Interview (JACI) is a structured tool that helps forensic evaluators assess a youth’s competence to proceed against the Dusky standard. Without formal training, however, evaluators may draw inconsistent conclusions from the JACI, so youths with similar abilities could potentially end up with different evaluator opinions regarding their competence. Online staff psychology training workshops offer a scalable way to bring consistency to interpreting JACI data and applying the Dusky standard to youth.