NCJ Number
146405
Journal
Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 44 Issue: 4 Dated: (1993) Pages: complete issue
Editor(s)
M R Mildon
Date Published
1993
Length
124 pages
Annotation
The National Task Force on Juvenile Sexual Offending is a function of the National Adolescent Perpetrator Network, a group of individuals from more than 800 programs involved with sexually abusive youths, and the task force's 1993 report defines the problem of juvenile sexual offending, discusses legal and treatment issues, and examines special groups and prevention approaches.
Abstract
The report emphasizes a comprehensive systems response to sexually abusive youth, based on clinical case experience, literature, and research. The crime of sexual abuse is viewed as a legal construct based on social values and norms; intervention with sexually abusive youths should be based on a legal foundation rather than on value judgments of individuals. The legal response to juvenile sexual offending involves reporting, investigation, prosecution, defense counsel, guardian ad litem, and court processes. Treatment issues focus on assessment, support, service provision, ethical issues, cultural sensitivity, and provider concerns. The report covers the use of electronic monitoring, aftercare and followup, tracking, programming, and special populations (sexually abusive female youth, developmentally disabled youth, violent youth, and gangs). In addition, the report considers special issues (multiple diagnoses, sexually transmitted diseases, victims and abusers, family therapy, institutional safety, mixed treatment groups, and victimization history of sexually abusive youth) and special techniques (arousal assessment, plethysmography/phallometric assessment, changing arousal patterns, and polygraphs). Appendixes list members of the National Task Force on Juvenile Sexual Offending and provide supplemental information on task force assumptions, available resources, the provision of treatment information to schools, service provider burnout prevention, California's juvenile sex offender registration, and polygraph examinations. 213 references