NCJ Number
93396
Date Published
1981
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This case study of Santa Clara County's (California) Child Sexual Abuse Treatment Program (CSATP) discusses its components, case management processes, and treatment approach, with attention to self-help groups. The majority of clients are referred to CSATP for father-daughter incest.
Abstract
The CSATP has three interdependent components: (1) a professional staff drawn from police, social service, mental health, and court agencies; (2) a cadre of volunteers including many graduate students in counseling who provide transportation, administrative support, and companionship to new clients; and (3) self-help groups called Parents United and Daughters and Sons United. Parents United began with a small group of mothers meeting regularly, then included fathers, and now has over 200 members in Santa Clara County. In addition to group therapy, Parents United provides lists of lawyers, available jobs, and other resources, and members give each other practical support such as babysitting and transportation. Daughters and Sons United is composed of children 5 to 18, most of whom are girls. It offers group therapy, practical support, educational services, and companionship. Members are involved in program planning and fundraising activities. The success of a CSATP depends on how well leaders have internalized a humanistic attitude toward sexually abusive individuals and can transfer this viewpoint effectively to coworkers and clients. Because abusive parents discharge their chronic self-resentment through hostile acts unconsiously intended to be self-punishing, harsh punishment only reinforces this self-hate destructive energy syndrome. The paper describes the referral process in Santa Clara County, which begins with police and probation officers, the order of treatment in which the child, mother, and father are counseled separately before family and group counseling occur, and court processing of the father. About 40 percent of the CSATP referrals come from the clients themselves, and the average family stays in the program about 9 months. A mid-l977 evaluation by an independent investigator concluded that the CSATP family therapy approach has a positive and unmistakable impact in treating intrafamilial sexual abuse. The referral rate has increased dramatically since 1971, a significant achievement in itself, since most incest offenders do not repeat the offense once it has come to the attention of the criminal justice system. The paper includes four references.