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T•A•P Program
Treatment
for the offender
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Accountability
for behavior
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Protection
for the community
Sex offender
evaluation and treatment programs for juveniles and adults.
Principles of the TAP Program
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The TAP Program contributes to
the protection of society by managing the risk of re-offence through assessment,
treatment and maintenance programs for sex offenders. |
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The timing, duration, focus and
intensity of services are based on an offender’s level of risk, need,
responsivity/treatability, motivation and other relevant factors. |
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Offenders should accept full
accountability for his or her own behavior throughout the provision of services. |
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Community Based Services
provided to sex offenders are an integral part of providing for community
safety. All TAP Program services are developed and carried out by a
multidisciplinary team with the active participation of the offender. |
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Effective Treatment Plans
include a continuum of intervention strategies and services. |
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All treatment services are founded on
sound theory and research. All interventions focus on reducing the likelihood
of re-offending |
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Development of innovative
methods in the assessment, treatment and management of sex offenders is
encouraged in order to improve program delivery. |
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All TAP Program staff and multidisciplinary team members are qualified and trained in
accordance with his or her duties. |
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All TAP Program services
provided to sex offenders are reviewed and evaluated on a regular basis to
ensure he or she meets professional, ethical and correctional standards.
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To ensure public protection, the
TAP Program works towards partnerships with the community to develop joint
interventions and maintenance programs. |
TAP Program for the
Adolescent Offender
The TAP Program for
Juveniles provides a specialized outpatient treatment program for both
adjudicated juvenile sex offenders as well as those children and adolescents who
engage in inappropriate sexual activity but have not been arrested. All youth in
the TAP Program receive thorough evaluations. These initial evaluations focus on
cognitive, emotional and behavioral functioning. TAP's comprehensive, in-depth
evaluations are designed to serve as a starting point for implementing an
effective treatment plan for young offenders. Each evaluation includes an
examination of:
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The nature of the specific offense(s) and of past offenses
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Antecedents of offending
behaviors
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Victim Characteristics
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Current Level of Functioning
including the presence of co-occurring mental health diagnosis, including
substance abuse
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Developmental History
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Detailed Family and Social
History
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Sexual History, Experience &
Knowledge, including a review of prior offenses and/or patterns of victimization
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Academic History
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Intellectual and Personality
Assessment
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Formal psychometric testing,
for example MMPI-2, MMPI-A.
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Risk Assessment
includes both actuarial measurements of the individual offender's risk of
re-offending and a clinical review of both static and dynamic risk factors.
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Polygraphs are
available as an aid in treatment
TAP Program for the Adult Offender
The
primary goal of the TAP Sexual Offender Treatment Program is to maintain
community safety and security through treatment and clinical management of
sexual offenders residing in the community. The TAP Program is a therapeutic and
structured intervention aimed at the reduction of the risk to re-offend
sexually. The TAP Adult treatment program is approved by the PA Board of
Probation and Parole to treat Sexually Violent Predators (SVP) under Megan's
Law.
The
TAP Program provides evaluation and treatment services to the adult
offender on probation or parole. The program provides an intensive outpatient
program designed to work with the offender who has been returned to the
community. We provide a combination of individual and group work. ATA has
psychiatrists, psychologists and master's level staff who have extensive
training and experience in working with the adult offender and meeting their
complex needs.
TAP Program for Cognitively Impaired Sex Offenders
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Intellectually disabled offenders (who
are also commonly referred to as psychosocially challenged, learning
disabled or mentally retarded) are offenders who, like many persons who are
mentally ill, tend to cycle through hospitals, community agencies and
correctional facilities.
These offenders may be excluded from certain treatment programs as a result
of their borderline intelligence, illiteracy, impulsiveness or inadequate
social skills. However, if such an offender is deemed unsuitable for regular
sex offender programming or is main-streamed through such a program, their
likelihood of recidivism will probably not be significantly reduced - their
unique treatment needs will not have been met.
ATA’s Offender Program is designed to meet a significant proportion of the
treatment needs of these offenders through techniques ranging from
psychoeducational modules, to arousal reconditioning, to individual
treatment. The majority of intellectually disabled sex offenders in the
correctional system do not fall into the profound or severely retarded range
of intellectual functioning. They instead fit into the mild to borderline
range of mental retardation.
It has been estimated that up to 74%
of intellectually disabled sex offenders have organic brain syndrome as a
result of brain injury. Intellectually disabled sex offenders with a brain
injury tend to be more functionally impaired than those without such a
problem, since the injury may further complicate their other learning
disabilities.
Brain injury may also cause sexual disinhibition, hypersexuality, changes in
sexual preference, poor abstract reasoning, an inability to sequence events,
poor memory, aggressiveness, explosiveness and anxiety disorders.
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