NCJ Number
243152
Date Published
2011
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This chapter discusses the psycho-educational aspects of working with non-offending parents in incest cases.
Abstract
The chapter also identifies major components of an optimal education curriculum and clarifies the various applications of non-offending parent (NOP) education. For the purposes of this chapter, the term "nonoffending parents" includes relative caregivers, foster parents, families formed through adoption, and birth parents. The outline of the key components of NOP psycho-education includes impact issues, child sexual development, information about sex offenders, and strategies for parenting the sexually abused child. The chapter presents information collected from parents on their satisfaction with a well-established, non-offending parent education service, as well as results from pre-tests and post-tests that measured the increase in parents' understanding of sexual abuse issues. The group members' feedback and test results were obtained from NOP education groups conducted at The Shepherd Program, an outpatient program of St. Mary's Home for Children in Rhode Island. Information provided in this chapter is based on this NOP 12-week curriculum and its key components. The chapter advises that the material presented stems from the realization that education for caretakers is crucial to incest survivors and their families. It enables parents to be knowledgeable and active participants in their children's recovery. 2 figures and 5 references