Report on the Adolescent Sexual Offenders Group

Question: Your personal perspective AND referenced materials

Which special needs offender group have you chosen to write about and what have you learned about this offender group (characteristics, vulnerability this must be researched and

The special needs offender groups I have chosen to write about are adolescent sexual offenders. Some of the things I have learned about this offender group is that most of them begin engaging in sexual behavior from a young age and attack other children who may have little or no knowledge about their sexuality (Murphy, Haynes, & Page, 2013). In addition, most of the sexual offenders are willing and able to change when given the right form of guidance from social workers and will commit towards transforming their lives both in the short-term and in the long-term

How does your chosen topic relate to practicing inclusivity? Explain what is meant by inclusive community practice AND how it relates to your chosen offender group

My chosen topic relates to practising inclusivity as it will address offenders who have more than one problem. Some of the offenders may have more than one special need which is evident in one characteristic. However, with an intervention program on them, then it would be possible to accord them the kind of assistance they need so that they can lead normal lives. Inclusive community practice is the use of more than one intervention program to assist people who need help (Murphy, Haynes, & Page, 2013). Offenders are the target market for the inclusive community practices as the law enforcers want them to change for the better and stop leading their lives in a manner that leads to a conflict between them and the state. Hence, inclusive community practices relate to the adolescent sexual offenders as it would be important to give the children a chance to live free from conflicts with the state. In addition, it helps identify underlying issues that adolescents might have and address them as need be for long-term solutions (Pullman & Seto, 2012).

Question: Your FEELINGS based on what you have learned about this population from lecture materials and referenced materials. These materials help you to form an opinion about working with special needs offenders

How do you FEEL about this special needs offender? In other words, what are the emotions that you experience when you think about or talk about working with this special needs offender population (negative and/or positive, will it be challenging or easy and why)?

I feel that the adolescents sexual offenders are young people who need guidance so that they can transform their lives. Hence, this will make it easy when dealing with them as they will cooperate (Mallie et al., 2011).

I think most of them hate the turn their lives have taken and are willing and able to change and start life afresh. Most of them will regret the choices they have made in the past and initiate a change

I also feel that most of the offenders have faced abuse in the past that was unaddressed which pushes them to abuse others. Understanding the reason they behave in that way will help transform their lives (Murphy, Haynes, & Page, 2013)

I feel that the sex offenders might be under influence of drugs which pushes them to target younger children

How do these feelings relate to your past or present experiences or lack of experience personally and/or professionally?

The feelings are related to my past experiences where I saw people engaging in unlawful activities since they had underlying issues. For instance, I saw a case where an offender engaged in drugs since they faced abuse from their parents and wanted to use substances as an escape channel

Question: How these feelings may impact your work in the CJS field

How will these feelings and experiences affect or impact the work you will do with these special needs offenders?

The feelings I have towards the offenders will make it easy for me to work with them as I understand that they have an internal and external force that pushes them to engage in socially unacceptable activities (Mallie et al., 2011).

I will be in a position to empathize with them as I understand the struggles they have gone through in the past

I will handle each case with the attention it needs

Explain how your feelings/experiences may bias you against or in favor of practising inclusivity with these offenders?

Despite my positive attitude towards the sexual offenders, I might think that all of them are willing to change whereas some of them might be enjoying the pain they cause the younger children who fall victim to their sexual exploitation (Pullman & Seto, 2012).

Question: What information, techniques, skills, and/or training is needed to prepare us for working with this special needs offender? This question is NOT about what the offender needs BUT what YOU need as a CJS worker. Your suggestions MUST be supported by research.

What are two suggestions that you believe are most important in preparing to work with this special needs offender (provide a reference for each of these two suggestions)?

It is important to have mental preparations on how to handle the adolescents that have sexual offences in the past (Murphy, Haynes, & Page, 2013). Handling them requires professional knowledge of a practitioner so that they can change and have a better future after embracing change. Hence, the following are important when preparing to work with the special needs:

Find out if the offender faced any form, of abuse in the past. Most of the offenders might have faced different forms of abuse in the past and never got the professional help to deal with the abuse (Mallie et al., 2011). Therefore, they may be abusing children or other younger people since they have no channel to air out their frustrations and let go of their anger. Hence, understanding that the offenders faced abuse in the past, one is in a better position to handle them and know how to approach the subject and avoid reminding them of the past.

It is also important to understand if the adolescent is under any influence of the substance that may be one of the main triggers to their behavior. Some of the teenagers might be using drugs that motivate them to abuse younger children sexually. In addition, the sexual offenders might be using drugs as an excuse to abuse the children who have no form of control or power since they overpower them (Murphy, Haynes, & Page, 2013).

Explain why these two suggestions are important in doing this work.

These two suggestions are important when doing this type of work as a professional need to understand the underlying behavior in an adolescent child that pushes them to abuse minors. When the therapist has this type of information, they will be in a position to design a healing program that will fit the situation of an offender (Mallie et al., 2011). On the other hand, an offender will get the necessary help they need and will be in a position to change if they commit their minds to engage in a transformational process.

References

Mallie, A. L., Viljoen, J. L., Mordell, S., Spice, A., & Roesch, R. (2011, October). Childhood abuse and adolescent sexual re-offending: A meta-analysis. In Child & Youth Care Forum (Vol. 40, No. 5, pp. 401-417). Springer US.

Murphy, W. D., Haynes, M. R., & Page, I. J. (2013). Adolescent sex offenders. The Sexual Abuse of Children: Volume II: Clinical Issues, 394.

Pullman, L., & Seto, M. C. (2012). Assessment and treatment of adolescent sexual offenders: Implications of recent research on generalist versus specialist explanations. Child abuse & neglect, 36(3), 203-209.