NCJ Number
132837
Date Published
1991
Length
50 pages
Annotation
The juvenile sex offender treatment program of the Washington State Division of Juvenile Rehabilitation (DJR) is evaluated.
Abstract
The DJR has provided treatment to juvenile sex offenders for over a decade. Nonetheless, the DJR has not developed a clearly articulated and coordinated sex offender treatment program. Only recently has there been a significant effort to develop an integrated approach which goes beyond the DJR's offense-specific model for basic custody and treatment services. The lack of program coordination is partially an outgrowth of a fundamentally decentralized service delivery system. Responsibility for developing and implementing treatment programs is carried out at the facility or community level. Coordination between treatment sites is inadequate, and there is no centralized accountability for treatment. The current level of DJR staffing does not allow enough time for individual counseling by qualified sex offender therapists. Levels of specialized training, experience, and education of DJR line staff are low in comparison to those required in most specialized sex offender treatment programs. Critical issues affecting the quality of sex offender treatment relate to staffing levels, the underutilization of purchased services from private providers, mainstreaming of sex offenders, coordination between institutions and community-based programs, and the absence of systematically collected treatment data for program oversight and accountability. Recommendations for improved coordination of sex offender treatment are offered. The form used to survey DJR sex offender treatment programs is appended. 12 tables