The legal system can be daunting. You might feel like others are making all the decisions for your family. It may seem unnecessary or unfair.

But remember – these systems are there to protect the community and ensure everyone's safety. Child Protective Services (CPS) strives to ensure all children in your family are safe. The Juvenile Justice system strives to maintain community safety, ensure teens are held accountable for their illegal behavior, and connect teens to appropriate habilitation or rehabilitation programs. Understanding their roles can make the process smoother for you. To effectively deal with the legal system, work with an attorney who can provide information and advice on legal issues.

Find information for parents going through a child abuse and neglect investigation and access policies and laws by state

For information about reporting suspected child abuse and neglect, visit Stop It Now and Mandatory Reporting. 

Also see a Glossary of Terms commonly used in the Juvenile Justice System for further support throughout legal system involvement.  

When you find yourself in this situation, it is important for you to know that you are not alone. This Survival Guide was developed by other caregivers in your shoes.

Other parents have experienced similar emotions and reactions to yours. With the right support systems you can move from distress to a sense of hope and to a better future.

It can help to know that problematic sexual behaviors in teens typically lessen with the right type of treatment and when families are actively involved in services. Through such treatments, future problematic sexual behaviors can be prevented.

Children with problematic sexual behaviors can learn to better respect themselves and others. They can learn to demonstrate healthy boundaries and behaviors, even when the reasons for the problematic sexual behaviors remain unclear.

Most parents can’t possibly be calm and helpful when they first learn about their teen’s harmful sexual behavior. As with any crisis situation with a teenager, it’s best first to separate yourself from your child, calm yourself down, and try to think clearly about what needs to be done. Once you feel more calm and collected, however, your teen needs to know

• You still love them, despite the sexually harmful behavior;
• You will support them during treatment.

It’s okay to let your teen know that you are upset, disappointed, and angry about what they did. It’s okay for your teen to realize that you are disappointed, that the family and others have been let down, and there is much work to be done to regain trust. And your teen needs to know that you still see who they are beyond their sexually harmful behavior and that you will stand with them and do what is necessary to get help, to heal, and to make things right.

Safety Implementation

The family, in consultation with therapists and other professions, will need to develop a safety and supervision plan to prevent any further problematic sexual behavior. The “Home Safety Plan” includes information regarding restrictions for and responsibilities of the youth with PSB, responsibilities of you and all the caregivers, and activities in which the child and/or children may engage. Commonly, the safety plan is part of an initial assessment and is developed collaboratively with you (the caregivers), other adults responsible for supervision in your home, your youth, and any involved professionals such as child welfare or probation officer. The safety plan should be a working document that allows for changes and adaptations through the course of your family’s progress in services.

Components of the Home Safety Plan

The following information provides a framework for developing a safety plan. A qualified professional should assist in individualizing the plan for your family’s circumstances. The plan should include activities the teen can and is encouraged to do. Responsibilities of the caregivers in charge of the children in the home, and the family rules regarding privacy and supervision are also listed below.

Reunification

Teens may be removed from their home in order to provide for the safety of other family members or to provide more intensive treatment. The information below will provide guidelines for making decisions and managing the process of returning the adolescent to the family. These guidelines are especially designed for families in which the adolescent's harmful sexual behavior involved or impacted another child in the home, such as a sibling or step-sibling, who lives in the home. However, the principles can be applied to other situations.

Will the Adolescent be Returned to the Family?

The adolescent may have been removed from their home by the legal or child protection system or the parents may have decided that it was better for them to live outside the home for a period of time. Many adolescents who receive treatment do return home to live with their families. Factors that lead to successful reunification of the family include implementing appropriate levels of supervision, strengthening house rules, and improving communication among family members. Whether an adolescent will return to live with their family depends on many factors that include

• The seriousness of the illegal behavior
• How long the behavior went on
• The safety, well-being, and wishes of the other children in the home
• The parents’ willingness to have the adolescent return home
• The stability of the family and how well the adolescent will be supervised by the parents
• The family’s participation in the adolescent’s treatment program and
• The adolescents’ progress in treatment and success with probation requirements.

How does Reunification Happen?

There are several ways to have an adolescent return to live with their family. Typically the probation officer, CPS worker, treatment provider, and parents will develop a reunification plan to fit the needs of the particular family. The goals are to provide maximum safety for children in the home and to return the adolescent to a more normal setting, including school, friends, and activities. While no set list of factors exists that will always lead to a successful reunification, certain guidelines can help in developing and implementing a plan.

Guidelines for Reunification

A set of general guidelines is described below that can be useful in developing a plan for reunifying your teen into the family, i.e., setting a time-line, developing rules for supervision during visitation, and increasing levels of contact between the adolescent and the younger child.

Plans for reunification should first consider the safety and emotional well-being of the victim, if the child is in the home. Listed below are suggestions for an assessment of the parents, the adolescent, and the child victim before the reunification process begins

Before the reunification process can begin, parents should

• Be clear and accurate about who was responsible for the abusive behavior
• Be supportive of all the children
• Know the details about the illegal sexual behavior, such as, how and where it happened and risky situations
• Recognize warning signs or behaviors associated with problematic sexual behavior and know how to respond
• Participate in the development of a safety plan for the adolescent
• Be able to discuss the behavior with the therapist, the adolescent, and the child and
• Know and be able to enforce the supervision rules in the home and community.
• Have described the sexual behavior in a similar way to what appears to have happened.

Before an adolescent can begin the reunification process, the treating therapist, treatment team and sometimes an independent evaluator will assess the progress that the adolescent has made toward meeting goals of treatment and probation. If the team determines that adequate progress is being made in these areas, the adolescent may be ready for visits. The adolescent needs to

• Understand the harm caused to the family, the child, and themselves.
• Be making consistent progress in treatment with no sexual or major nonsexual problems at home, at school, or in the community
• Have admitted their behavior and taken responsibility for it and
• Know and be ready to follow the rules for visitation in the home.
• Have described the behavior in a similar way to what the child victim said happened.

In addition, careful consideration needs to be given to how the child victim is doing before starting reunification. Depending on his or her age and ability to understand the process, the child victim should

• Not have been pressured to begin the process by family members who want the adolescent to return home
• Be ready for and interested in contact with the adolescent
• Have described the sexual behavior in a similar way to what appears to have happened and
• Be making satisfactory progress or have completed treatment, if it was recommended.

The reunification process can begin with the adolescent writing letters of apology or clarification to the victim and their parents as part of their treatment program. If the victim was a family member who didn’t live in the home but was visiting the family, such as the parents’ grandchild, a letter could also be written to that child’s parents. The letter to the adolescent’s parents can be read and discussed in a treatment session. If and when appropriate, the letter to the child victim can be read in a family clarification session prior to or during the reunification process. Some treatment programs use a “clarification” session that is attended by the teen, the child victim and other siblings if appropriate, and the caregivers. This session clarifies the youth’s responsibility and the rules to be followed during the visits and the reunification process.

A safety plan should be developed by the therapist, the adolescent, the parents and, when involved, the probation officer or CPS worker. Parents should set limits for the adolescent’s behavior in the home, know what the adolescent is to do if problematic situations come up, and implement consequences for breaking any of the rules. Some suggestions for a safety plan are listed below. These rules can be adjusted as the adolescent shows that their behavior has improved over time

During visitation and the reunification process, the adolescent should

• Be closely supervised (within the sight of adults who understand the need for supervision) especially when around children and in other situations with significant risk.
• Not babysit under any circumstances
• Not be in charge of children for any activity in such places as a school, church, or rest room
• Not discipline or correct children in the home
• Not go into other children’s rooms
• Leave if a child comes into their room
• Not share a room with younger or vulnerable children
• Not be involved in bathing or dressing children
• Be fully dressed when in public areas of the home
• Not have access to highly sexualized materials, including magazines, videos, television shows, or the Internet and
• Not engage in horseplay, wrestling, or tickling with children.

It is important to note that these rules do not mean that an adolescent cannot have ordinary or typical activities for their age with appropriate supervision. They should go to school, church, the mall, or restaurants with family members and be involved in age-appropriate activities that are supervised by adults such as sports activities, band, or other school events. Over time, the adolescent can be allowed to have activities that do not require close supervision as they shows that they can conduct themselves in an acceptable way.

The process of reunification can take place in steps such as the ones listed below. The process should be planned with the therapist, probation officer, CPS worker (if one is involved), parents, and the adolescent. While the steps below may not be necessary or appropriate in every case, they can serve as a guideline for planning the reunification process. The steps can be implemented on a weekly basis or on a schedule that is planned by the team involved in developing the safety plan. The length of time to implement the plan should be decided on a case-by-case basis and can last from a few weeks to several months, depending on the circumstances and the successful completion of each step.

Suggested steps for reunification are as follows:

• Letters of clarification or apology written
• Determination of readiness of the adolescent, the child, and the family
• Development of a safety plan
• Phone calls between the adolescent and the child, monitored by the parent or therapist
• Family clarification session with the child present, if appropriate 
• Supervised visits out of the home, in a park, restaurant, or another family member’s home, with the child present
• Supervised  visits in the home for two to four hours 
• Supervised all-day visits in the home
• Supervised two-day visits in the home
• Overnight visits in the home
• Weekend visits with overnights
• Extended visits, such as during a holiday period or spring break
• Adolescent returns home

Based on research that shows the long term importance of sibling relationships, it is important for the teen, the child victim, and the other siblings to interact in healthy, appropriate ways. While some physical contact, such as wrestling, tickling, etc., should be omitted, appropriate contact such as brief hugs, or high fives can be encouraged, when appropriate and wanted.

It is strongly recommended that the reunification process be done while the adolescent is in treatment and, if he is on probation, before the probation period ends. This timing will provide the necessary professional involvement, assistance, and oversight to give the process the best chance of being successful.

When Should Reunification not be Considered?

The following factors are potential indicators that the adolescent, child victim, or family is not at a point where the reunification process should be implemented. These factors should not be taken as definite reasons not to discuss reunification, but they can help the family, the providers, the probation officer, and child protection staff decide the overall readiness of the family to begin the process.

Reunification should not be considered when

• The caregivers continue to deny the abuse occurred
• The caregivers have not provided consistent, appropriate supervision during the reunification visits
• The abuse was extremely harmful to the child victim
• The victim has significant discomfort when discussing the topic it is expected, however, that a child might have some uncertainty about discussing the issue
• The child continues to have significant trauma symptoms or serious response to the abuse
• Evidence exists that the victim has been pressured to agree to reunification and/or
• The adolescent has a recent history of significant aggressive or violent behavior.

Not all of the above factors taken alone would automatically stop the reunification process however, each of them should be given careful consideration before starting the process or if they occur as the process is implemented. Other factors may need to be considered, but these will depend on the specifics of each individual case.

Treatment Providers

Treatment for illegal sexual behavior is most typically provided by professionals from mental health disciplines, such as social work, psychology, and psychiatry. It is recommended that providers

• Be licensed mental health professionals or work under the supervision of a licensed professional
• Have previous general experience working with adolescents and their families
• Be familiar with the current literature regarding adolescents with illegal sexual behavior
• Participate in training and continuing education for treating youth with illegal sexual behavior
• Be members of relevant professional organizations such as the Association for Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse (ATSA), American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), American Psychological Association (APA),and National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

In some areas, treatment is provided by juvenile justice personnel, who are typically probation officers. These treatment providers work under the supervision of the juvenile justice system. They have received training in treating adolescents with illegal sexual behavior. The recommendations we suggest above for mental health professionals, such as specialized training and knowledge of the literature, also apply to juvenile justice personnel.

Some states have special certification requirements for individuals who treat adolescents with illegal sexual behavior.

Approaches to Treatment

Our Caregiver Partnership Board developed this tip sheet with their advice on what to look for in treatment (English and Spanish).

Several treatment approaches are currently being used to treat adolescents with illegal sexual behavior. The judge or probation officer may recommend, or order, an adolescent to be part of a specific program or the parents may have a choice of providers. The availability of treatment programs may impact the decision made. In some cases, the legal/juvenile justice system may pay for the treatment. In other cases, it will be the parents’ responsibility. These are decisions that need to be discussed with your child’s attorney or a representative of the court/juvenile justice system.

When families have a choice of treatment providers, caregivers need to have information about the various approaches of treatment to decide what would be best for their teenager and family. Questions for parents to consider, as they weigh this decision, are the following:

• Is the provider licensed to provide mental health services in the state, or is the provider working in an agency under supervisors who are licensed?
• Does the provider have adequate knowledge about youth with illegal sexual behavior? Does the provider know the types of information provided on this website?
• Is the provider familiar with the research and literature about adolescents who have engaged in problematic or illegal sexual behavior?
• Does the provider attend annual trainings for this population and have membership in professional organizations? 
• Does the provider know which approaches to treatment are the most effective? 

A good treatment program would be one with experienced, licensed therapists, who have a productive working relationship with the court, probation staff, and CPS, and with a reputation for providing effective services to these adolescents.

A questionable program is one that utilizes therapists with limited knowledge and experience with adolescents who demonstrate illegal sexual behaviors, professionals without a license, providers who perceive all adolescents with illegal sexual behavior as high risk for reoffending, and uses treatment designed for adults and are not developmentally appropriate for adolescents. Parents should evaluate how well their program works. Ideally, a program would offer information about the percentages of teens that re-offended after completing their treatment program. Parents should be able to expect that the program provides assessments of the adolescent’s treatment needs before, during and at the end of treatment.

Several approaches have been used to treat adolescents with illegal sexual behavior. Depending on the particular case, one or more of the interventions described below will typically be used.

Multisystemic Therapy – Problematic Sexual Behavior (MST-PSB)

Multisystemic Therapy (see MSTPSB) is an approach to treatment that has the strongest research support in decreasing general delinquent behavior, substance abuse, and illegal sexual behavior by adolescents. The treatment provider is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and works closely with the youth and his parents. MST does not include going to a clinic for therapy for an hour a week. In this approach, the therapist has only a few clients and spends a lot of time with the teen, his parents, other family members, and peers. The therapist primarily works with the parents and youth in the home to target problematic behaviors. They often also work with the caregiver and teen in community settings to improve the teen’s behavior, school achievement, and social activities. Treatment with MST-PSB takes about six to nine months, is performed in the community, and directly involves the caregivers. It is important to note that MST-PSB is not available in all areas and that there are conditions that need to be met in order for a youth to qualify for treatment. However, if MST-PSB is available in your community, it may be very helpful for your adolescent and family. 

Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy is a psychoeducational approach to treatment that is conducted in groups of six to eight adolescents. This approach addresses issues such as taking responsibility for the illegal behavior learning legal, appropriate sexual behavior increasing involvement in prosocial activities and with non-delinquent peers and preventing future illegal sexual and nonsexual behavior. Adolescents attend weekly 1 to 1.5 hour group sessions in the community for 8 to 24 months, depending on the program’s requirements. Parents are encouraged or required to attend and participate in a weekly educational support group. The parent group is recommended because caregiver participation has been found to significantly improve treatment outcomes. This treatment approach is widely accepted and used for adolescents.

Family Therapy

Family therapy is used to directly address the illegal sexual behavior or to focus on problems within the family that influence the youth’s progress in treatment. Family therapy usually involves all members of the family and may be particularly useful in cases where the sexual behavior occurred within the family. When a victim is a family member, then the timing of including all members in family session must take into consideration the progress the youth with problematic sexual behaviors and child victim has made in treatment and the wishes of the victims. Family therapy may be used as the primary approach to treatment or may supplement other therapies such as when the family is involved in the reunification process.

Individual Therapy

Individual therapy may be provided if other forms of treatment, such as MST-PSB or group therapy, are not available or if the adolescent has other psychological problems that need to be addressed. In this approach, a therapist typically meets with the adolescent on a weekly basis for an hour to address issues related to their illegal sexual behavior. If the youth has other psychological problems, such as depression, these would also be addressed in the individual sessions. In these cases, it is recommended that the teen’s caregivers be included in the treatment on a regular basis. The caregiver can provide important information on the teen's behavior at home, at school, and in the community. The therapist can discuss issues of behavior management, supervision, and progress in treatment during the sessions.

Residential Treatment

There are times when an adolescent is demonstrating more severe sexual behaviors that have not responded to treatment in the community, or that compromise the safety of those in his home and possibly, the surrounding community. In these situations, the adolescent may also have mental health diagnoses such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Depression, Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder and/or drug and alcohol abuse. Residential Treatment Centers are designed to treat adolescents who are in need of a secure living environment, are experiencing multiple difficulties that may include complex family problems, and likely have behaviors that have not responded well to mental health treatment that has been provided in the community. Adolescents stay at the facility, and length of stay can vary tremendously to up to two years. Approach to services also varies but is often designed to promote positive behavior change and address mental health needs. During their stay, they attend individual and/or group psychotherapy and are provided with psychiatric medication management. Some Residential Treatment Centers have their own programs to treat problematic sexual behaviors and others refer their clients to programs at outpatient settings in the community. Though often challenging to take place due to distance, family involvement is critical during the adolescent’s stay and caregivers are encouraged to participate in ongoing family therapy as well as other therapy programs that are recommended.

Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment

When teens have concerning psychiatric issues that are not responding to community based approaches, they may require psychiatric hospitalization to address their treatment needs. The hospitalization can be short or long-term, depending on whether the purpose is to stabilize the youth or to address more severe psychiatric problems. Some hospitals conduct treatment programs for adolescents with illegal sexual behavior as part of the youths’ overall treatment plan, which may include group cognitive-behavioral treatment. Youth who are hospitalized should be discharged when their mental health disorders have stabilized, they have made progress in treatment, and they are responsive to adult supervision. They may be released to continue treatment in a community-based program and have ongoing monitoring of their mental health disorder.

Length of Treatment

The length of treatment varies from program to program and depends on

• The seriousness of the sexual behavior
• Whether the youth has other delinquent behavior and
• The youth’s and family’s active participation and progress in treatment

Adolescents who are in community-based treatment programs and live in the community are treated in shorter-term, less-intensive programs that usually meet once a week for one to two hours and last from 8 to 24 months. Some adolescents need long-term, intensive treatment in a restricted placement. Programs in these settings typically use a “levels system” by which the youth’s progress is measured and rewarded as he moves through the levels to discharge. As mentioned earlier, if you have questions or concerns about the program, it is recommended that you discuss these with the program director or your teen's probation officer or attorney.

To learn more about connecting to treatment go here

Some policies and practices currently used in the treatment and supervision of adolescents with illegal sexual behavior are controversial, meaning that experts in the field disagree as to whether they are necessary, appropriate, or effective.

These controversial practices include the use of

• The polygraph (lie detector);
• Visual reaction time such as the Abel Assessment of Sexual Interests; and
• Plethysmograph testing (a device placed on a penis to measure arousal).

Due to its lack of reliability, the results of a polygraph are not accepted in court proceedings. The use of the plethysmograph and polygraph were originally designed for and implemented with adult sex offenders to increase the effectiveness of treatment and reduce recidivism. Though widely used with adult sex offenders, minimal evidence exists that proves that the methods are effective in reducing future sex offenses. No research indicates that the approaches increase treatment effectiveness or reduce re-offense rates when used with adolescents.

Parents should be aware that these methods are controversial. They should discuss which treatment and supervision methods will be used with their adolescent, and their necessity, with their teen’s treatment provider and probation officer and the teen’s attorney. Although these methods are recognized as controversial, they are permitted and used in some areas and by some providers.

Getting the Most Out of Treatment

Keep these key points in mind when selecting a successful treatment program for your family. Treatment should be focused on the behavior problem in a positive learning environment.

• Therapy should not be based on adult treatment models.
• The qualifications of the therapists are important.
• Caregiver involvement is crucial.
• A group setting can be helpful when focused on building positive behavior.
• Respect and support are key.
• Youth should not be negatively impacted by treatment.