NCJ Number
217047
Journal
Corrections Today Magazine Volume: 68 Issue: 7 Dated: December 2006 Pages: 78,80
Date Published
December 2006
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes sex offender treatment in Iowa.
Abstract
In 2005, due in part to a shocking kidnapping and murder, the Iowa legislature toughened the State’s sex offender laws. One component of the new legislation eliminated accrual of earned time discounts for sex offenders who refused to participate in the Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP). The SOTP is administered by the Mt. Pleasant Correctional Facility and is an 18-month, open-ended sex offender treatment program that utilizes a sex offender curriculum and includes group therapy work on anger management, relationships, and victim empathy. There is also a short-term SOTP that runs between 5 and 6 months for offenders with shorter sentences. The long-term SOTP has a 43 percent successful completion rate while the short-term SOTP has a nearly 70 percent successful completion rate. A special needs SOPT group caters to the needs of sex offenders with developmental difficulties, learning issues, language barriers, or mental health issues. The special needs SOTP has a 53 percent successful completion rate. Offenders who refuse to participate in SOTP are enrolled in the Treating Resistant Sex Offenders (TRSO) Level System, designed to help offenders gain insight regarding their denial so they can enter or reenter the SOTP. The three level system provides sex offenders with increasing expectations and privileges based on their progress. The TRSO consists of both group and individual therapy, which generally last 6 weeks and include groups focused on loss, problem-solving, personal victimization, and criminal thinking. After 1 year of operation, 20 percent of the sex offenders enrolled in the TRSO were moved to SOTP treatment as a result of the program.