imtssomanag.htm

The management of sex offenders involves a wide range of activities and the involvement of virtually all criminal justice agencies, numerous community agencies, and individuals. The components of a good sex offender management system consist of the following elements:

Assessment of Risk to Reoffend.
Sex Offender Specific Treatment, both while Incarcerated and while under Supervision in the Community.
Appropriate Supervision Techniques for Sex Offenders under Supervision.
Collaboration between Criminal Justice Agencies and Community Helping Agencies
Criminal Justice and Community Agency Staff that are Trained in the Management of Sex Offenders, including Special Populations such as Females, the Mentally Ill, and Statutory Offenders.

IMTS has extensive experience training criminal justice agencies, community helping agencies, and individuals in the management of sex offenders to accomplish the goal of No More Victims.

Over the last several years, the sexual assault of children and adults has become a national tragedy. Across the country people are demanding not only protection but also reassurance: reassurance that dangerous sexual perpetrators will be incarcerated, treated effectively, and not released to re-offend. Consequently, for many reasons and in many states, public officials and community clinicians are being asked to thoroughly assess and treat sex offenders, to determine their dangerousness and risk to re-offend.

Second, at IMTS we believe that although working with sex offenders is a challenging and complex task, it is not an impossible one! The successful provision of treatment services to this unique population requires careful planning, adequate funding, ongoing research, and a team of dedicated professionals who understand sexual deviance, family dynamics, chemical dependence, criminal tactics, and the impact that sexual abuse and assault can have in the lives of unfortunate victims.

We also believe that the overarching goal of any programmatic effort should always be NO MORE VICTIMS; that public safety not offender convenience should always come first! In addition, we feel that the need for effective intervention is clearly warranted not only by the incredible number of victims that just one untreated sex offender can create during a lifetime of sexual acting-out, but by the tremendous value that the successful treatment of just one sex offender can have with regard to reduced recidivism and public expense.

Finally, because of the unprecedented growth in sexual assault and in the corollary demand for effective, cost-efficient treatment, we at IMTS believe that twin modalities of cognitive-behavioral therapy and Relapse Prevention (RP) are the best overall approaches to use when working with sex offenders – that this conclusion is not only supported by existing research in the field of sex offender treatment, but also is crucial to offenders learning better self-control to never offend again.

Because at IMTS we believe sexual deviance and offending to be a multi-faceted, complex phenomenon, we also believe that offender treatment must be multi-modal and dimensional in approach, as well as integrative. For us, a credible treatment program must include and address the following:

In addition, we believe that a more generalist approach to group psychotherapy is totally inadequate when addressing the special needs of this unique population. To the contrary, we believe that particular cognitive techniques and behavioral interventions are needed to modify the sexually abusive fantasies of offender and the deviant sexual assault cycles that they exhibit when abusing or assaulting others.

Furthermore, we believe that additional psycho-educational components are needed to address problems like anger management, stress reduction, sex education, and poor social skills. That when it comes to the management of personal risk factors and high-risk type situations, Relapse Prevention techniques and strategies are invaluable because they help offenders to (a) modify thinking errors, (b) develop effective coping skills, (c) disrupt their deviant assault cycles, (d) avoid or escape high risk situations, and (e) create viable support networks and relapse prevention plans for effective transition back into society.

Consequently, while we at IMTS can appreciate the fact that some clinicians like to use one-on-one, psychodynamic techniques to treat sex offenders, we believe that the small group treatment of sex offenders, via the use of cognitive-behavioral techniques and Relapse Prevention, is more effective when working toward the essential goal of No More Victims. That as an approach, not only is group therapy critical because it can be very demanding and rigorous, it is helpful because it does a better job of holding each offender accountable for his or her deviance and the need to change.

Finally, we at IMTS believe it is imperative that good sex offender treatment avoid the pitfall of a short-term, health-maintenance type of approach to treatment. In our view, treatment needs to be long-term, intensive, offense-specific and interdisciplinary. It needs to involve an integrated model of mental health functioning that involves a web of dynamic relationships that impacts each offender's entire life (e.g., a set of collaborative relationships that are therapeutic, judicial, medical, custodial, educational, financial, legal, etc. in nature). That by the end of treatment each offender self-management plan not only identifies his or her deviant sexual assault pattern and what strategies he or she will use to disrupt any temptation to re-offend, but a plan that also identifies those external controls, environmental restrictions, and personal support mechanisms he or she will use to enhance control and support team supervision to never offend again.

Therefore, we believe that a good sex offender treatment program, at minimum, does the following:

Sees the public, not the offender, as its primary client with the mission to reduce future victimization, i.e., the goal of "No more victims."

Promotes an actively consistent adherence to rules, procedures, and probation-parole conditions (stipulations);

Offers direct and concrete communication to the offender and all members of his or her supervision-support network;

Recognizes antisocial thoughts, feelings, and actions and is able to model and reinforce pro-social types of thinking, feeling and action;

Exhibits enthusiasm and belief in the offender's ability to self-manage his or her recovery and never re-offend;

Confirms within a specified period offender compliance status upon program referral and intake assessment;

Conducts within a specified period offender assessments that evaluate treatment amenability and classify offenders according to dangerousness, recommending therein specific treatment and supervision strategies for offender monitoring and rehabilitation;

Informs probation-parole agents immediately of any no-shows for assessment, treatment or case consultation (2 unexcused no-shows is cause for termination within a specified period);

Advises within a specified period probation-parole agents of any offender programmatic changes in schedule, structure, staff or therapeutic supervision;

Consults with probation-parole agents before instituting any change in offender program status, e.g., frequency of sessions, level or phase of treatment, discharge or termination from treatment;

Discusses cases with probation-parole agents on a monthly basis, especially high visibility cases;

Submits monthly progress reports (notes) to document offender attendance or progress toward established treatment goals and changes therein;

Works cooperatively with prison-based treatment programs as part of a comprehensive approach to treatment planning and offender aftercare or rehabilitation;

Establishes clear, measurable performance goals for every treatment program module, component, level or phase;

Encourages candid, complete and open communication between program staff and designated representatives of the agency contracting for the service, e.g., probation-parole agents, court system, etc;

Maximizes therapeutic impact via treatment groups that (a) should contain no more than 10 offenders at anyone time and (b) meet for at least 90 minutes a week.

SUMMARY

We at IMTS believe that good sex offender treatment incorporates as much control, structure, treatment intensity, restricted access, and extensive supervision as possible. As offenders demonstrate motivation, commitment, trustworthiness, follow-thru, and integration of therapeutic knowledge, control is gradually reduced.

In addition, as offenders demonstrate increased responsibility for daily life management, and they demonstrate appropriate insight, stability and maturity, community access is extended to further facilitate rehabilitation and the day-to-day maintenance of positive change. As sex offenders progress through treatment, they are given concrete, specific opportunities to acquire and practice healthy social interaction skills.

	Integrated Management & Treatment Services, LLC A Criminal Justice Consultancy Specializing in Sex Offender Management & Emergency Response Planning and Training	IMTS GOAL: NO MORE VICTIMS
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IMTS MISSION: To Provide Quality Sex Offender Management, Consultation and Training Services, Emergency Response Planning and Training, Sexual Harassment Training, and Expert Witness Testimony.	graphic image space: graphics in this space will periodically change

	IMTS SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY The management of sex offenders involves a wide range of activities and the involvement of virtually all criminal justice agencies, numerous community agencies, and individuals. The components of a good sex offender management system consist of the following elements: Assessment of Risk to Reoffend. Sex Offender Specific Treatment, both while Incarcerated and while under Supervision in the Community. Appropriate Supervision Techniques for Sex Offenders under Supervision. Collaboration between Criminal Justice Agencies and Community Helping Agencies Criminal Justice and Community Agency Staff that are Trained in the Management of Sex Offenders, including Special Populations such as Females, the Mentally Ill, and Statutory Offenders. IMTS has extensive experience training criminal justice agencies, community helping agencies, and individuals in the management of sex offenders to accomplish the goal of No More Victims. SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT PHILOSOPHY Over the last several years, the sexual assault of children and adults has become a national tragedy. Across the country people are demanding not only protection but also reassurance: reassurance that dangerous sexual perpetrators will be incarcerated, treated effectively, and not released to re-offend. Consequently, for many reasons and in many states, public officials and community clinicians are being asked to thoroughly assess and treat sex offenders, to determine their dangerousness and risk to re-offend. Second, at IMTS we believe that although working with sex offenders is a challenging and complex task, it is not an impossible one! The successful provision of treatment services to this unique population requires careful planning, adequate funding, ongoing research, and a team of dedicated professionals who understand sexual deviance, family dynamics, chemical dependence, criminal tactics, and the impact that sexual abuse and assault can have in the lives of unfortunate victims. We also believe that the overarching goal of any programmatic effort should always be NO MORE VICTIMS; that public safety not offender convenience should always come first! In addition, we feel that the need for effective intervention is clearly warranted not only by the incredible number of victims that just one untreated sex offender can create during a lifetime of sexual acting-out, but by the tremendous value that the successful treatment of just one sex offender can have with regard to reduced recidivism and public expense. Finally, because of the unprecedented growth in sexual assault and in the corollary demand for effective, cost-efficient treatment, we at IMTS believe that twin modalities of cognitive-behavioral therapy and Relapse Prevention (RP) are the best overall approaches to use when working with sex offenders – that this conclusion is not only supported by existing research in the field of sex offender treatment, but also is crucial to offenders learning better self-control to never offend again. TOP PROGRAMMING & APPROACH Because at IMTS we believe sexual deviance and offending to be a multi-faceted, complex phenomenon, we also believe that offender treatment must be multi-modal and dimensional in approach, as well as integrative. For us, a credible treatment program must include and address the following: TOP In addition, we believe that a more generalist approach to group psychotherapy is totally inadequate when addressing the special needs of this unique population. To the contrary, we believe that particular cognitive techniques and behavioral interventions are needed to modify the sexually abusive fantasies of offender and the deviant sexual assault cycles that they exhibit when abusing or assaulting others. Furthermore, we believe that additional psycho-educational components are needed to address problems like anger management, stress reduction, sex education, and poor social skills. That when it comes to the management of personal risk factors and high-risk type situations, Relapse Prevention techniques and strategies are invaluable because they help offenders to (a) modify thinking errors, (b) develop effective coping skills, (c) disrupt their deviant assault cycles, (d) avoid or escape high risk situations, and (e) create viable support networks and relapse prevention plans for effective transition back into society. Consequently, while we at IMTS can appreciate the fact that some clinicians like to use one-on-one, psychodynamic techniques to treat sex offenders, we believe that the small group treatment of sex offenders, via the use of cognitive-behavioral techniques and Relapse Prevention, is more effective when working toward the essential goal of No More Victims. That as an approach, not only is group therapy critical because it can be very demanding and rigorous, it is helpful because it does a better job of holding each offender accountable for his or her deviance and the need to change. Finally, we at IMTS believe it is imperative that good sex offender treatment avoid the pitfall of a short-term, health-maintenance type of approach to treatment. In our view, treatment needs to be long-term, intensive, offense-specific and interdisciplinary. It needs to involve an integrated model of mental health functioning that involves a web of dynamic relationships that impacts each offender's entire life (e.g., a set of collaborative relationships that are therapeutic, judicial, medical, custodial, educational, financial, legal, etc. in nature). That by the end of treatment each offender self-management plan not only identifies his or her deviant sexual assault pattern and what strategies he or she will use to disrupt any temptation to re-offend, but a plan that also identifies those external controls, environmental restrictions, and personal support mechanisms he or she will use to enhance control and support team supervision to never offend again. TOP MINIMUM TREATMENT PROGRAM OBJECTIVES Therefore, we believe that a good sex offender treatment program, at minimum, does the following: Sees the public, not the offender, as its primary client with the mission to reduce future victimization, i.e., the goal of "No more victims." Collects as much collateral information as possible prior to initiation of treatment; Promotes an actively consistent adherence to rules, procedures, and probation-parole conditions (stipulations); Maintains its role as an authority figure in the offender's life without domination or abuse; Offers direct and concrete communication to the offender and all members of his or her supervision-support network; Fosters respectful and open communication within the offender's support network; Recognizes antisocial thoughts, feelings, and actions and is able to model and reinforce pro-social types of thinking, feeling and action; Exhibits enthusiasm and belief in the offender's ability to self-manage his or her recovery and never re-offend; Notifies probation-parole agents immediately of any signs of increased risk to re-offend; Requires clinicians to give testimony at probation-parole violation hearings when appropriate; Confirms within a specified period offender compliance status upon program referral and intake assessment; Conducts within a specified period offender assessments that evaluate treatment amenability and classify offenders according to dangerousness, recommending therein specific treatment and supervision strategies for offender monitoring and rehabilitation; Informs probation-parole agents immediately of any no-shows for assessment, treatment or case consultation (2 unexcused no-shows is cause for termination within a specified period); Advises within a specified period probation-parole agents of any offender programmatic changes in schedule, structure, staff or therapeutic supervision; Consults with probation-parole agents before instituting any change in offender program status, e.g., frequency of sessions, level or phase of treatment, discharge or termination from treatment; Discusses cases with probation-parole agents on a monthly basis, especially high visibility cases; Makes program clinicians readily available by phone or voice mail; Submits monthly progress reports (notes) to document offender attendance or progress toward established treatment goals and changes therein; Works cooperatively with prison-based treatment programs as part of a comprehensive approach to treatment planning and offender aftercare or rehabilitation; Identifies specific cognitive, affective, and behavioral goals for each offender; Establishes clear, measurable performance goals for every treatment program module, component, level or phase; Encourages candid, complete and open communication between program staff and designated representatives of the agency contracting for the service, e.g., probation-parole agents, court system, etc; Maximizes therapeutic impact via treatment groups that (a) should contain no more than 10 offenders at anyone time and (b) meet for at least 90 minutes a week. SUMMARY We at IMTS believe that good sex offender treatment incorporates as much control, structure, treatment intensity, restricted access, and extensive supervision as possible. As offenders demonstrate motivation, commitment, trustworthiness, follow-thru, and integration of therapeutic knowledge, control is gradually reduced. In addition, as offenders demonstrate increased responsibility for daily life management, and they demonstrate appropriate insight, stability and maturity, community access is extended to further facilitate rehabilitation and the day-to-day maintenance of positive change. As sex offenders progress through treatment, they are given concrete, specific opportunities to acquire and practice healthy social interaction skills. \| Top \| Contact Us \| Home \|
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