CENTER FOR SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT
The Effective Management of Juvenile Sex Offenders in the Community
A Training Curriculum

 A Project of the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice

 

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Section 5: Supervision
2 Hours

TOPIC: SUPERVISION

In addition, supervision officers and other stakeholders should keep in mind the following principles and philosophies as they approach their work with these youth:

• Taking steps to prevent violations is more effective than responding to them after the fact. As we’ve discussed, most sex offenses that are committed by juveniles are not spontaneous and unplanned. Rather, there are often identifiable precursors such as thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that come before them. So officers can wait for a youngster to fail and then respond, or, alternatively, they can anticipate problems, intervene before they become worse, and thereby reduce the likelihood of a serious transgression or reoffense.
• Individualization is critical. A major theme that has emerged during this training is the importance of differentiated responses and management strategies for youth who have committed sex offenses, based on a youth’s level of risk, needs, and unique circumstances. This important theme should also apply when we consider how to respond to violations and non–compliance.
• The more options the better. Ideally, supervision officers can utilize a range of pre–revocation interventions and graduated sanctions, reserving the most severe for chronic behavior problems or those that have significantly compromised victim and community safety. For example, options can include:⁴⁷
  • Imposing additional restrictions or special conditions to address newly identified risk factors or an increase in risk level;
  • Increasing the frequency of office visits and other contacts;
  • Imposing an earlier curfew;
  • Restricting movement in the community;
  • Limiting recreational activities;
  • Imposing home detention or house arrest; and/or
  • Using GPS or electronic monitoring.
   
  Intermediate sanctions can also be treatment–based. For example, a youth might be required to:
  • Address the issue in his current treatment group;
  • Participate in residential or institutional programming as a “day treatment” option; or
  • Enroll in a new or different community–based program.
   
  In some jurisdictions, juveniles can also be required to return temporarily (for a night or weekend) to a residential treatment facility or institutional placement as a sanction.
• Intermediate sanctions should become progressively more severe for repeated violations.⁴⁸ If a juvenile continues to breach the rules and expectations that have been established, consequences should become more severe, recognizing that revocation may ultimately emerge as the best or only option to ensure community safety.

• Don’t ignore problems, no matter how small or insignificant they are. When a violation occurs, a response that is swift as well as proportional is critical. This demonstrates to the juvenile that our expectations must be followed and encourages future compliance.
• Get to the bottom of the violation before responding. Some non–compliance may not be a direct reflection of a youth’s deliberate and intentional disregard for the established expectations. Rather, the problem may, in some instances, be a reflection of larger issues or problems in the juvenile’s life—for example, significant mental health issues or family dysfunction may impact a youngster’s ability to do what we ask them to do. So supervision officers must determine the underlying cause of the violation and then respond in a flexible, individualized way.
• Ensure that juveniles are fully aware of the potential consequences associated with non–compliance. If juveniles know exactly what will happen if they do not comply with our expectations, and if they believe that we will follow through on these consequences, they may be more likely to follow the rules that have been established.
• Officers should be empowered to take immediate and appropriate action when a violation occurs.⁴⁹ It is widely known that the impact of responses to problem behaviors is more effective when they are delivered immediately, rather than days or weeks later. Ideally, then, supervision officers have the ability to respond swiftly and decisively to most instances of non–compliance as warranted, rather than having to go back to court in order to get approval for relatively minor changes to a supervision plan. Sanctions that officers in some jurisdictions are able to impose quickly include restrictions on leisure activities, changes in curfews, the imposition of additional community service requirements, and participation in additional community–based treatment services. Examples of sanctions that may require the approval of the juvenile court include more onerous responses, such as placement of the youth on electronic monitoring and requiring an out–of–home placement.
• Written violation guidelines are used in some agencies to help ensure consistency and proportionality in officers’ responses to non–compliance. These provide a starting point for officers and are often designed to recommend the least restrictive response that promotes community safety and that adequately addresses the non–compliant behavior. These guidelines also include over–rides, so that more or less severe responses can be used based on aggravating or mitigating circumstances.
• Collaboration is key. Depending upon the nature and seriousness of the behavior or violation, and if there is an opportunity to do so, supervision officers should always try to discuss violation behaviors with treatment providers and other members of the case management team, and strive to develop a coordinated response.

Part IV: Summary

We have covered quite a lot in this section. Before we move on to the next component of the training, let’s take a few minutes to review some of the key messages about supervising juvenile sex offenders.

• Focus on juveniles’ success as a means of ensuring public safety. The community management of juvenile sex offenders depends on effective supervision practices. And to be most effective, supervision approaches must extend beyond surveillance, monitoring, and sanctioning. Indeed, the research shows that better outcomes are achieved with youth involved in the juvenile justice system when supervision is rehabilitation–focused. In the context of supervision, this means that supervision officers need to also consider the various issues that can impact a youth’s ability to be successful and productive—such as unique risk factors within the youth, and various needs within the peer group, school and family—and making sure that services and supports are provided to address these concerns. Ensuring that these youth are successful translates into increased public safety.
• Develop comprehensive and individualized supervision plans. Formal supervision or case management plans are the roadmap for managing juvenile sex offenders effectively in the community. To be most useful, they must include information from multiple sources and should be tailored based on the individual risk levels and needs of these youth. Comprehensive supervision planning also means that in addition to the use of standard and specialized conditions and restrictions to manage risk, “approach goals” are also incorporated into supervision plans.
• Supervision plans are fluid documents. The risks, needs, and circumstances of youth and their families change over time, and supervision plans and strategies should be modified accordingly. These changes may be in response to progress or positive goal attainment, or in response to non–compliance or other identified concerns. Specialized assessment data and information–sharing are critical for making informed decisions on an ongoing basis.
• Specialization is important. Although juvenile sex offenders share some characteristics with other youth involved in the juvenile justice system, they are different in some important ways. To fully understand these differences, and to ensure that supervision approaches take these unique factors into account, specialized training for officers can enhance management efforts.
• Supervision officers cannot manage youthful sex offenders on their own. And finally, as is the case with the other components of juvenile sex offender management, effective supervision requires collaboration. Particularly important collaborative partners are treatment providers, the schools, parents or caregivers, and other members of community support networks.