Clinical and Community Support for Children and Adolescents with Sexual Behavior Problems

This program aligns with the Department’s priorities to combat victimization and enhance public safety. The Supporting Effective Interventions for Children With Sexual Behavior Problems and Adolescent Sex Offenders program supports communities in developing comprehensive, multidisciplinary approaches to provide a continuum of intervention and supervision services for youth with problematic and illegal sexual behavior as well as treatment services for their victims and families/caregivers. This program is authorized by Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2020, Pub. L. No. 116–93; 133 Stat. 2317, 2410.

The purpose of Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Greater Hartford Family Advocacy Center's (GHFAC) program is to prevent sexual reoffending by children with sexual behavior problems or by adolescent sex offenders in the Greater Hartford community and the state of Connecticut. The program proposes to serve a total of 25 youth (with at least 50 referrals) and their families from the combined PSB programs. Their goals include: 1) Building organizational capacity to serve children with PSB, their victims and caregivers; 2) Deliver intervention and supervision services for youth with sexual behavior problems; 3) Develop and enhance treatment services for the child victims and non-offending family members; 4) Ensure public safety; and 5) Strengthen/operationalize problematic sexual behavior - Community Change Team.

GHFAC will deliver a strength-based, comprehensive, coordinated community-based therapeutic intervention that is developmentally appropriate and trauma-informed. The model for treatment is Problematic Sexual Behavior- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Preschool (PSB-CBT-P) children ages 3-6, Problematic Sexual Behavior- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for School (PSB-CBT-S) age children ages 7-12 and supplemented for youth ages 13-14, and Problematic Sexual Behavior- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy- Adolescent (PSB-CBT-A) ages 13-17, including illegal sexual behavior. Therapeutic mentoring program will be offered for PSB youth ages 13-17. This program will continue to focus on child sexual abuse prevention and promote awareness about healthy sexual development in children by providing age-appropriate information, including behavioral parent training skills (e.g., supervision, guidance, safety, and managing PSB). The GHFAC will continue to work closely with underserved populations to better understand the cultural context for perspectives on child abuse and empower underserved communities through their community-organizing project, called “Under Our Wings” providing peer education and advocacy in their communities. CA/NCF