| Many attempts have been made to correct and to resolve the problem of sexual assault. The introduction of sex offender programs has provided an alternate view to the attitude of such a controversial issue. The ongoing trend in this country is to punish offenders rather than rehabilitate them. With no rehabilitative structure in treatment programs, criminals are likely to continue their destructive patterns without regard or remorse. In addition, the few specialized programs for offenders are usually enrolled at maximum capacity with a waiting list.; One offender can cost society an estimated {dollar}1.7–{dollar}2.3 million, taking into account the number of crimes, costs imposed on the victims, and criminal justice expenses (USDOJ, 1999). In 1999, the Uniform Crime Reports indicated that approximately 17% of the sexual offense charges in the United States were committed by juveniles (FBI, 1999). These figures accentuate the importance of the installation of offender treatment programs. With a 1% reduction in recidivism, the treatment of all sex offenders that have been treated would be paid for by the reduction of costs related to the investigation, trial, incarceration, victim, and supervision. (Texas Department of Health, 2000).; This day treatment program is designed for juvenile sex offenders that need to be transitioned back into the community. A step-down program that works with the juvenile to practice relapse prevention techniques and help to reintegrate him into society while living in the home is the aim for the day treatment program. This program will operate as a non-profit organization, which will sustain itself by grants and donations. It is designed to provide a psycho-educational “community” for male juveniles between the ages of 10–18 who have been adjudicated by the Department of Juvenile Justice due to sexual misconduct. In addition, the juveniles have recently been, or are waiting to be, released from a residential treatment center for sex offenders and show a need for a step-down program to facilitate their transition. The goals of the program are aimed at lowering the incidence of additional sexual offenses perpetrated by the adolescents, raising the adolescents' education to a level where they can compete in a public school upon release, and creating a safe family environment.; The therapeutic portion of the program is based on a multi-modal theoretical model, which consists of individual therapy, family therapy, a parenting skills/support group for parents, and four groups. Within the group dimension, the groups will run on a weekly basis. These groups consist of Psycho-educational training, Offense Cycle/Relapse Prevention, Empathy/Social Skills Training, and General Process group. The second focus of the program is the educational portion, which will employ non-traditional, alternative psycho-educational techniques.; In evaluating the program as a whole, multiple evaluation techniques will be employed to increase the reliability of the program evaluation. |
