NCJ Number
243159
Date Published
2011
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This chapter reports on the author's experience in assessing treatment participation and behavioral change in sex offenders civilly committed to a long-term locked treatment program in Minnesota after completing lengthy prison terms for their most recent offenses.
Abstract
The findings of the sex offender assessment program developed by the author for the Minnesota Security Hospital showed that the use of two relatively simple rating systems had good agreement with a clinical team's more complicated assessment of residents' current placement on a continuum from beginning treatment to nearing readiness for discharge. The two assessment systems developed by the author include daily participation rating scales and sex offender rating scales. The daily participation rating scales document both the delivery of group-based services and the characteristics of each individual's participation in each session of various treatment programs. Entry of the daily observations into a database provide the means to summarize observations over time, both for the individual and for the comparison group of other residents participating in the same program. The second system of rating scales moved beyond the detailed recording of daily participation in therapeutic programming to an assessment of the degree to which the outcomes targeted by treatment are evident in daily behavior, both in treatment groups and in general hospital life. Ratings reflect observations of both verbal and nonverbal behaviors in a variety of settings. The five scale areas address accountability (expression of an internal locus of control for the offense and appreciation of the impact of his behavior on others); impulse control (thinking before acting); adult daily living skills (self-care and time-structuring); relationships (interaction with program peers and staff); and sexuality (openness in discussing sexuality and evidence of a process of self-management in this area). 1 table and 7 references