Click here to return to Proceedings 21
Residential Treatment of Sexual Offenders: Dealing with many Levels of Crisis
Jack Rusinoff, M.A., Clinical Director, Licensed Psychologist
Alpha Human Services, Inc
2712 Fremont Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55408-1198
(612) 872-8218 Fax: (612) 874-8885
e-mail: rusin002@maroon.tc.umn.edu
Alpha Human Services is possibly the only long-term, community-based residentialtreatment facility for adult sex offenders in the United States. This program accepts felony sexual offenders who are put on probation in lieu of their prison sentences. The program has traditionally been open-ended with clients staying in the therapeutic community for an average of 18 to 20 months. In recent years, the average inpatient stay has steadily increased, to the dismay of some funding sources. The inpatient segment is followed by an average of one year in the post-residential phase of the program, which is similar to outpatient therapy, but with a higher level of supervision than typical outpatient programs. Program referrals are usually assessed to require more supervision, structure and intensity than traditional outpatient treatment because of frequency, duration, severity of abusive behavior or number of victims. The facility provides a therapeutic atmosphere with an integrative treatment approach to change. This involves cognitive-behavioral and behavioral therapy, psycho-educational programming, psychodynamic intervention and a heavy emphasis upon the experiential aspect of the therapeutic community. Over the past 25 years of the program's existence, an extremely low recidivism rate has been recorded for program completers. Recent societal, funding and legal changes are forcing the program structure to adapt and change. Although the program is cost effective for completers, especially when compared to the costs associated with lengthy prison sentences, a commonly high non-completion rate skews program costs and deters funding sources from making referrals. Also, a public misconception, often promulgated by the media, that all sex offenders are untreatable makes the operation of such a facility a tricky affair.
Most of the referrals to Alpha Human Services involve cases of child sexual abuse. The clientele of the Alpha program tends to be highly sexually compulsive, antisocial personality disordered, or grossly under socialized. Some of the clients exhibit all three of the above traits, and some are also psychiatrically disturbed. Even with such difficult cases, funding sources are increasingly demanding shorter treatment periods, with higher completion rates and no increase in recidivism.
This presentation focuses on the Alpha Human Services inpatient treatment model and will
highlight recent programmatic restructuring designed to deal with recent funding, and political
crises. The stress experienced by the staff and clients will be discussed from a perspective of crisis
intervention and management. Managing the crises which are a normal part of this type of
treatment will be explored by the presenter.