Community management of convicted sex offenders: An interagency approach.
Item
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Title
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Community management of convicted sex offenders: An interagency approach.
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Identifier
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AAI3231961
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identifier
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3231961
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Creator
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Marino, Kim M.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Gwendolyn L. Gerber
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Date
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2006
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Behavioral | Sociology, Criminology and Penology
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Abstract
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Community corrections for sex offenders have taken on an interagency management approach in which probation officers and mental health practitioners cofacilitate court mandated sex offender-counseling groups. A goal of this study was to determine if role orientation would determine which behavior(s) (compliance with probation conditions, acceptance of self as a sex offender, or psychological insight) are related to probation officers' and mental health practitioners' perceptions of offender progress in a counseling group. This study also tested the hypothesis that mental health practitioners were more likely than probation officers to perceive offenders as making progress in a sex offender-counseling group. An external criterion, whether or not the offender actually violated his probation sentence, was also examined in relation to the three behavior variables for both co-facilitators.;As predicted, probation officers were less likely than mental health practitioners to perceive sex offenders as making progress in the counseling groups. Also, as predicted, for mental health practitioners, psychological insight was related to perceptions of offender progress in counseling, whereas, for probation officers, offenders who were perceived as making progress were those who accepted the label of sex offender. It has been predicted that probation officers would be more likely to perceive compliance with probation conditions as related to progress in counseling than would mental health practitioners. However, both mental health practitioners and probation officers perceived compliance with probation conditions as related to progress in the counseling group. Behavioral ratings for co-facilitators tended to be related to an external criterion---whether the sex offender violated probation or not.;This study enriches the current research on sex offender risk assessments by exploring how co-facilitators assess perceived progress in sex offender counseling groups. It also provides an analysis of those assessments by tracking each offender's actual progress measured by whether or not they violate probation prior to the completion of their sentence. With continued research in this area, assessments of offender progress can be refined to effectively improve the ability of correctional agencies to manage sex offenders.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
