Sex Offender Evaluation

Sex Offender Evaluation Donya L. Adkerson, MA, LCPC Alternatives Counseling, Inc.

What an Evaluation can do: • Clarify recidivism risk level • Identify problem areas and complications to the offending problem • Identify treatment needs • Identify supervision needs • Lay groundwork for treatment

What an evaluation can NOT do • Determine guilt or innocence regarding a specific crime • Give a 100% complete picture of the person

Components of the Evaluation • Review of History • Collateral interviews • Client interview • Client testing • Actuarial assessment • Written report

Review of History Information • Possible sources include • Police records & interviews • Child welfare investigations & interviews • Prior mental health records • Prior criminal history records • Trial transcripts

Collateral Interviews • Consider interviewing • Spouse or partner • Former spouse or partner • Parents • Usually NOT the victim

Client Interview • Broad topics to cover include • Family of Origin • Education & employment • Relationships and parenting • Health, substance use, treatment history • Sexual history • Criminal history

Client Testing • Physiological • Clinical • Self-report

Actuarial Assessment • Assessment based on research statistical analysis of factors strongly correlated with recidivism risk. This type of assessment is currently only available for adult male sexual offenders. Continuing research is needed before such tools will be available for minors and for females.

Written report • The product from the evaluation process. The report serves to document, educate and guide decisions regarding the client’s containment and treatment. It should be detailed and specific.

Relevant Standards for sexual offender assessment • Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) • Illinois Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB) • SOMB Standards include ATSA Ethics Code by reference

Some relevant ATSA Ethics Guidelines • “…there is no know psychological test, profile, evaluation procedure, of combination of such tools that prove or disprove whether an individual has committed a specific sexual act.” • Follow all applicable reporting laws, including duty to warn or protect.

ATSA Evaluation Standards: • Apply to work with Adult Male offenders; there may be variations from these standards in work with juveniles or females

Overview of ATSA Standards specific to Evaluations: 2005 Edition (Note that Standards are revised regularly)

Strive for Objective, fair, and impartial evaluations • Informed consent (or at least assent) • Right to refuse • Nature & purpose of eval • Who gets the results • Understand how legal status impacts eval • Don’t overstate your information/findings

Obtain comprehensive information, including: • Community support • Criminal and other antisocial behavior, • Access to potential victims, • Developmental history and family background, • Deviant sexual interests and arousal. • Education and employment histories,

Gather information about • History of aggression or violence, • History of sexually abusive behavior, including details about victims, tactics used in the commission of the offense, and the circumstances in which the sexual abuse occurred, • Level of cognitive functioning, • Medical and mental health histories, • Official and unreported history of sexual and nonsexual crimes,

Gather information about • Peer and romantic relationship histories, • Substance use/abuse • Relevant personality traits such as, but not limited to suspiciousness, hostility, risk-taking, impulsivity, and psychopathy,

Gather information about • Sexual history, including sexual fantasies, urges, and behavior, early sexual experiences; number and duration of sexual relationships; gender identity and sexual orientation; masturbation and intercourse frequency; sexual functioning; unusual sexual interests or behavior that are not sexually deviant • Use of sexually arousing materials (e.g., magazines, videos, computer porn, internet sites, phone sex)

Use multiple sources of information, NOT client self report alone! • Review of official documents, including criminal justice records, witness statements, previous assessment and treatment reports, medical records, and victim impact statements. • Collateral interviews, as applicable (family members, romantic partner/spouse, employer, previous service providers, probation/parole officer),

Use multiple sources of information • Sexual preference measures • Relevant psychometric testing • Risk assessment • Client interview

Use multiple sources of information • Note significant discrepancies between client self-report and collateral information in the evaluation report.

Do not base conclusions on Client self report alone • Describe the sources of information • Identify any significant missing information in the report and note the impact this information could have on results/recommendations

ATSA Evaluation Guidelines • Use extreme caution if interviewing the victim, due to potential to add to victim harm. • Use caution to avoid conflict of interest if evaluating both the offender and his/her victim(s).

ATSA Evaluation Guidelines • Physiological testing • Get informed consent • Do not use physiological testing as a as sole criteria for findings. • Use appropriately trained examiners who follow their profession’s standards and guidelines

ATSA Eval - Special considerations • Be trained for any special populations you evaluate • Address any biases/assumptions based on age, cultural differences, socioeconomic differences, education, language, level of intellectual functioning, and mental or physical disability

Evaluation Guidelines • compared to the literature on adult male sexual abusers, less is known about the risk factors and prognosis for clients with developmental disability, offenders with major mental illnesses and female sexual abusers.

ATSA Evaluation Guidelines • If you don’t speak the client’s language, refer to someone who does. • If no native language evaluator is available, use a PROFESSINAL interpreter and document the use.

ATSA Evaluation Guidelines • Clients who cannot read at a level sufficient for completing written measures can often be tested using an auditory (taped or read) version of the instrument where such versions exist. Meet the special needs of clients with mental or physical disabilities during evaluations (e.g., using taped versions of questionnaires for vision-impaired clients).

ATSA Evaluation Guidelines • Select tests and instruments appropriate for that client. • Adapt for special needs (such as taped questionnaires for vision impaired or illiterate clients) • Note that modifications of testing might affect validity or reliability of testing

ATSA Evaluation Guidelines • Screen for mental or physical disabilities, major psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, and suicide potential. These conditions may have to be dealt with before evaluation or treatment for sexually abusive behavior begins • Recognize that treatment for a concurrent disorder or condition is, in most cases, not a substitute for sex offense specific treatment.

ATSA Evaluation Guidelines • Make recommendations for treatment, case management or supervision in clear and specific language. • Consider community safety and clients’ ability & willingness to manage their sexual offending when making recommendations.

ATSA Evaluation Guidelines • Release evaluation results to others only with written consent from the clients, unless legally obligated to do so. • Securely retain notes, raw test scores, and other documentation (including a copy of the evaluation report) for a minimum of five years after completing an evaluation.

Illinois Sex Offender Management Board Practice Standards for Evaluation

Illinois SOMB Evaluation Standards Public Act 093-0616 mandated use of the SOMB Standards and pre-sentencing eval for sex offenders considered for release to the community. It became effective January 1, 2004.

P.A. 093-0616 On Evaluations • Evals must be done by an SOMB approved evaluator • Done according to SOMB standards • Must be considered by the judge at sentencing

Finding SOMB Evaluators & Treatment Providers • A list of approved evaluators and Treatment providers is available on the Illinois Attorney General’s Website. The Standards are also available on the website.

SOMB Eval Standards • Overlaps with ATSA Standards – • Get informed consent & waivers of confidentiality • Be sensitive to diversity issues

SOMB: Purpose of Evaluation • Document treatment needs (offense specific and other) • Re-offense risk & amenability to treatment • Help determine setting, intensity, and level of supervision • Identify needs for supervision & support for community safety

SOMB: Areas to Assess • Mental & Organic disorders • IQ • Organic Brain Syndrome • Mental Illness • Drug & Alcohol use • Use/abuse history • Number of relapses

SOMB: Areas to Assess • Degree of Psychopathology • Stability of Functioning • Marital/Family stability • Employment & Education • Social skills, including dating history

SOMB: Areas to Assess • Developmental History • Self-image & self-esteem • Medical screening

SOMB: Areas to Assess • Sexual Evaluation • Sexual history • Reinforcement of deviant behavior • Culture, environment, cults, gangs • Arousal pattern

SOMB: Areas to Assess • Specifics of sexual crimes • Sexual deviance patterns • Sexual dysfunction • Sexual preferences • Sexual practices • Attitudes and cognitions (thoughts) about sexuality & offending

SOMB: Areas to Assess • Level of denial and deception • Level of violence and coercion • Evaluation of risk

Factors Evaluator Must Consider in Making Recommendations • Admission of offenses • Accountability • Cooperation • Offense history & victim choice • Escalation patterns; violence & dangerous behaviors

Factors Evaluator Must Consider in Making Recommendations • Sexual deviance, arousal, interest patterns • Social interest • Lifestyle characteristics & Psychopathology • Developmental markers • History of criminal behavior • Substance abuse

Factors Evaluator Must Consider in Making Recommendations • Social support systems • Overall control and interventions • Motivations of treatment and recovery • Previous treatment • Victim impact and victim access • Availability of treatment & supervision in the community

Recommendations Must Address: • Level & intensity of offense specific treatment needs • Assessment or treatment needs for co-existing conditions • Methods to lessen victim impact • Appropriateness of community based placement

Recommendations Must Address: • Appropriateness of community placement with emphasis on the risks associated with the home, neighborhood, school or community • Level and intensity of behavioral monitoring needed

Sex Offender Evaluation