Transcript Working with Juvenile Sex Offenders

Working with
Juvenile Sex
Offenders
Pre-Service Workshop
What is a
Juvenile Sex Offender?
An adolescent male or female who has
been adjudicated (charged and found
responsible) for engaging in sexually
aggressive behaviors, who sexually
abuse or offend, or who engage in
inappropriate sexual behaviors that
victimize others.
Common Characteristics of JSO’s ?
•11-17 years of age
•Prior sex offense unlikely
•47% have been physically abused
•58% have witnessed domestic
violence
•35% have been sexually abused
•Most have problems with impulse
control
•60% have learning disabilities and
academic problems
•Most have social deficits
•Likely have other behavior and
mental health problems
MALES
Males offending on males are
likely to have more victims
FEMALES
Most of them are sexual abuse victims
All have been abused
NOJOS
(Utah Network on Juveniles Offending Sexually)
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NOJOS is a Utah based, sex specific, professional
organization
Organized 20 years ago to aid in the consistency of
management, assessment and treatment of the less severe
juvenile sex offender.
Developed a continuum of care to treat sex offenders
Credential professionals that meet clinical criteria to treat
sex specific issues.
We combined Teaching Family
Association Standards along
with NOJOS Best Practice
Policies to Develop the
*SSTEP Program
*Sex Specific Treatment Education Program
Sex Specific Treatment Goals
within the SSTEP Program
Accept Responsibility for Offenses
 Develop and Demonstrate Empathy
 Understand and Become Aware of
Individual Patterns of Thinking , Feeling
and Behavior
 Master Relapse Prevention
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Individualized Sex Specific Treatment
and the Teaching Family Model
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DAILY LEVEL
 Therapeutic
Goal is clarification and
accountability
 Identify and accept responsibility through a
Timeline
 Take accountability for specific actions
through arousal exercises and clarifications
and additional psychosexual education
material.
Skills Supporting Therapy
Assignments and the Daily Level
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Asking for help through questions and
clarification.
Showing respect in communication
Conversation skills – Initiating Conversations
Appropriate word choice
Doing good quality work
Following rules/written instructions
Concentrating on a task
Individualized Sex Specific Treatment
and the Family Teaching Model
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WEEKLY LEVEL
 Goals
are empathy and self awareness
 They learn to Develop and Demonstrate Empathy
through the use of victim cams and responsibility
letters.
 Increased understanding and awareness of their
thinking patters is taught through the use of thinking
errors and cycle work.
Skills Supporting Therapy Assignments
and the Weekly Level
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Identifying own feelings
Preparing for Stressful Conversations
Using relaxation strategies
Using self monitoring and Self reflection
Self correcting own Behaviors
Dealing with frustration
Stopping negative or harmful thoughts
Seeking professional assistance
Individualized Sex Specific Treatment
and the Family Teaching Model
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ACHIEVEMENT
 GOAL:
Relapse Prevention
 Allows for the Opportunity to Review and
increase understanding of concepts and skills
learned through a review of material.
 Sex specific concepts are generalized and
internalized due to daily life interactions.
Skills Supporting Therapy
Assignments and Achievement
 Analyzing
social situation
 Choosing appropriate friends
 Controlling Sexually Abusive Impulses towards
others
 Dealing with an Accusation
 Moral and Spiritual Decision Making
 Use of Leisure time
Approaching Treatment as a Team:
Team Members
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Caseworker or Probation Officer:
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Treatment Parents :
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Supportive of therapeutic and behavioral interventions during home visits
Therapist:
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Primary providers of care. They teach to behavioral issues as well as
support therapeutic issues through teaching.
Biological Family:
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Oversees the case management regarding judicial matters:
Addresses sex specific and emotional issues, provides clinical expertise to
issues
Consultant:
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needs to be fully informed of treatment concerns and progress to facilitate
team.
Approaching Treatment as a Team:
Treatment Team Concepts
Understand the Youth’s Individuality.
 Understand these are children who have
behavioral problems in addition to their
sexual offending behaviors.
 Understand that treatment as a team will
promote the growth of the youth but also
be able to provide safety for the
community.
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Approaching Treatment as a Team:
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Constant Communication
Case Worker /Case Manager
Therapist
Treatment Parents
Biological Family
Consultant
Communication
Takes place through face to face contact or phone calls in these
situations:
 After a mental health assessment
 Solidifying the Treatment Plan
 When new victims are disclosed, triggers are uncovered
 Concerns with the treatment parents arise (e.g.. Tx parents
not taking issues seriously)
 Assessing quarterly reviews
 Moving kids from daily to weekly, weekly to achievement, or moving
them to a sub-system
 Sending kids home
 When crisis's arise
Communication
Immediate Attention/Immediate Phone Call
Physical offenses
 Out of Instructional Controls
 Sexually acting out/sex offenses
 Suicidal Ideation/attempts/threats
 Running away
(Immediate phone calls are not limited to this alone)
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information then goes out to the team
Treatment Parent’s Role
in Treatment
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Getting home ready for the JSO youth for Safety
 Door and window alarms
 Motion detectors
 Room dividers
Teaching Sex Specific Treatment skills along with other
social skills
 Checking In
 Setting appropriate boundaries
 reporting other youths behavior
 self reporting own behaviors
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Mentoring around the Sex Specific Therapy and SSTEP
model
 Positive or Negative Consequences for quality of work
and staying on task.
 structuring time to work on therapy
Supervising therapy assignments
 Support the therapist by clarifying therapeutic
assignments
 Support therapeutic concepts through behaviors
Communicating about Sex with
Juvenile Sex Offenders
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Create an open non-judgmental environment
Answer questions about sex with clear and correct
information that is appropriate for their age,
understanding, and previous sexual experience
Teach youth to use respectful / correct terms to
describe body parts and sexual behaviors
Model and teach healthy sexual values
Grooming Behaviors
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Courting with gifts, attention, and affection
Lowering sexual inhibitions (sex talk, pornography, etc)
Offering drugs or alcohol
Acting like a good listener, concerned older friend, asking
personal intimate questions
Horseplay “wrestling”
Removing clothing
Staring at body parts
Violation of others’ body space
Mooning and obscene gesturing
“Accidental” exposure
Concerning Behaviors:
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Anger / Outbursts
Isolation
Poor or Worsening School Performance
Poor Problem Solving
Mood Changes
Difficulty Accepting Feedback
“Get Backs”
Any Behavior That Is Different From Their Normal
Behavior
Indicators of Possible Inappropriate
Sexual Behaviors or issues:
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Preoccupation with sexual themes
Attempting to expose other’s genitals
Sexually explicit conversation
Sexual graffiti
Single occurrences of peeping, exposing, obscenities,
pornographic interests, frottage
Preoccupation with masturbation
Mutual / Group masturbation
Simulating foreplay with dolls, stuffed animals, or
peers with clothing on
Extreme Indicators of Inappropriate Sexual
Behaviors or issues:
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Sexually explicit conversation with significant age difference
Touching genitals of others
Degradation / humiliation of self or others with sexual themes
Forced exposure of other’s genitals
Sexually explicit proposals, exposing, obscenities, pornographic
interests, frottage
Compulsive masturbation / Task interruption to masturbate
Masturbation including vaginal or anal penetration
Simulating intercourse with dolls, peers, and / or animals
Absolute Indicators of Sexually Abusive
Behavior:
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Oral, vaginal, anal penetration of dolls, children, or
animals
Forced touching of genitals
Simulating intercourse with peers with clothing off
Any genital injury or bleeding not explained by
accidental cause
Remember:
These behaviors do not always mean a
youth is involved in inappropriate sexual
behaviors. They could also be indicators
of other mental health issues that need to
be addressed, so….
Discuss observations and concerns with your
consultant and the therapist.
 Teach to behavior!
 Increase monitoring if necessary.
 Be prepared for outbursts.
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Working with girls and boys who are
sexually reactive or abusive creates
unique situations for the treatment
parents.
 Trouble comes when there are parents
who feel as though they can wrestle or
tickle these youth.
 You must always remember to observe
strict personal boundaries.
 If something doesn’t feel right, just say
“no”.
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Working with
Juvenile Sex
Offenders
This training presentation is available for download at:
www.utahparenting.org
© 2007 Utah Youth Village.