You’ve Been Served (or Not): Sex Offenders in Georgia and Florida

• In Event: Reentry Programs: Strategies, Challenges, & Effectiveness

Abstract

The most promising treatments for sex offenders are those that focus on the dynamic risk factors such as sexual preoccupation, deviant sexual interest, intimacy deficits, and poor self-regulation. It is, however, unclear if the services provided to sex offenders target these risk factors in order to reduce sexual recidivism. As such, this study has two main purposes. First, practitioners are asked what risk factors they associate with sexual recidivism. Second, a comparison will be made between the types of programming available for sex offenders re-entering communities and practitioners’ perceptions of what is being offered. Specifically, this study aims to access whether community re-entry practitioners know and understand the risks and treatment needs associated with sex offenders and if they believe these offenders are currently being serviced in their state.

Authors

• Rebecca Bingham, Valdosta State University

• Bobbie B. Ticknor, Valdosta State University