Used by NYC HRA to assess clients aged 18-24, this assessment is designed to primarily determine whether clients should be referred to onsite or offsite engagements based on the number of risk and protective factors facing each individual. Risk and protective factors are the underlying characteristics of a young person’s environment, which influences critical developmental outcomes. Risk factors are known to increase the likelihood of negative outcomes for youth, while protective factors exert a positive influence and shield children and youth from risks. Protective factors are individual or environmental characteristics, conditions, or behaviors that reduce the effects of stressful life events. These factors also increase an individual’s ability to avoid risks or hazards, and promote social and emotional competence to thrive in all aspects of life, now and in the future. Risk and protective factors exist at every level at which an individual interacts with others and the society around him or her. The individual brings a set of qualities or characteristics to each interaction, and these factors act as a filter, coloring the nature and tone of these interactions-positive or negative.