NCJ Number
140353
Journal
Psychiatric Annals Volume: 22 Issue: 6 Dated: (June 1992) Pages: 326-332
Date Published
1992
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The Juvenile Sex Offender Program (JSOP) at the Hennepin County Home School in Minneapolis is an intensive program designed to treat serious juvenile sex offenders.
Abstract
Developed over a decade ago, the program is active in setting guidelines for programming nationally and internationally. The JSOP's general format and content follow guidelines set by the National Task Force on Juvenile Sexual Offending. The program addresses five content areas with all residents: personal accountability, life history, personal victimization, sexual assault cycle, and victim empathy. The primary therapeutic modality involves group work. Services are offered in a facility consisting of two 24-bed cottages on the grounds of a seven-cottage, 168-bed institution. All youths accepted into the JSOP are adjudicated delinquent. To evaluate the JSOP, all residents released between April 1982 and January 1991 were identified. Data were collected on length of stay, intake age, offense category, length at risk (time since release), race, self-reported sexual reoffending, and positive program elements. Most youths entered the program between 14 and 16 years of age, and most were white. Of the 285 youth released, 71 percent were child molesters, 27 percent were sexual aggressors, and 2 percent were nontouch offenders; 92 percent had been adjudicated on a sexual offense. The majority of youths had a residential length of stay between 7 and 18 months. Of the 285 subjects available, 193 were located for followup. A 6-percent recidivism rate was found for the 193 youths, while the self-reported sexual reoffense rate was 11 percent. Positive program elements identified by the sample included learning how to have a relationship and learning to identify or express feelings appropriately. 12 references and 6 tables