Title: Sex Offender Treatment and Assessment | Washington State Department of Corrections
Headings: Sex Offender Treatment and Assessment
Sex Offender Treatment and Assessment
The three primary goals for the Sex Offender Treatment Program are:
Learn More about Sex Offender Treatment
Prison Treatment
The goals of group therapy include:
Offenders admitted to the sex offender treatment programs must meet the following criteria:
Community Treatment
The goals of group therapy include:
Rules in the Community
Supervision:
Registration:
Living arrangements:
Treatment:
Alcohol and drugs:
Contact with past and potential victims:
Relationships:
Entertainment:
Employment:
Weapons:
Financial obligations:
Resources
Policies
Laws
Revised Code of Washington (RCW)
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Content: Many higher risk sex offenders don't volunteer to participate in treatment on their own. Beginning in 2014, the SOTAP instituted the practice of completing face to face screenings with all sex offenders coming in through the Reception and Diagnostic Center in Shelton, Washington. Through the use of motivational interviewing techniques and the development of a therapeutic rapport, the SOTAP has seen a dramatic increase in the rates of higher risk sex offenders volunteering to participate in the treatment program. Due to the increase in higher risk offenders volunteering to participate in the program, the SOTAP has not had sufficient capacity to allocate treatment resources to lower risk offenders. Back to Top
Community Treatment
DOC and its partners also continue that treatment in community supervision after they have served their prison time. Sex offenders about to leave prison undergo a classification process to assess their risk to the public. DOC and its partners ensure the proper authorities, organizations and potential victims know the whereabouts of sex offenders leaving prison and impose special safeguards on the offenders thought to pose the highest risk to the public. 97% of offenders currently serving time for sexual offense will eventually return to our communities. Most offenders spend two years in prison and 67% have sentences of 18 months of less, although sentences for sex offenders tend to be longer than the typical sentence for other crimes. Approximately 21% of the more than 16,000 offenders in Washington prisons have sex crimes as their most serious convictions or were serving time for a sexual offense.