The Sex Offender Treatment and Evaluation Project: California's new outcome study

The Sex Offender Treatment and Evaluation Project is a six-year clinical research program specifically mandated by the California State Legislature. Objectives of the project are: (a) to operate an innovative state hospital unit for sex offenders who volunteer for treatment during the last two years of their prison terms, and (b) to evaluate the effectiveness of the methods used in the experimental program. The treatment model is Relapse Prevention, a prescriptive and multimodal approach designed to train offenders to interrupt and control the chain of events leading to relapse (recidivism). Treatment effectiveness will be measured by comparing the 5-year recidivism rate for treated subjects with the rates for two control groups: (a) matched volunteers who were randomly assigned to a no-treatment group; and (b) a matched group of inmates who qualified for the program but did not volunteer. At this time, 44 sex offenders (34 child molesters and 10 rapists) are in the experimental treatment program. A majority of this first group of subjects will be released from the hospital in 1987.