INTRAFAMILIAL CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE - INTERVENTION PROGRAMS FOR 1ST TIMEOFFENDERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

Traditional legal and therapeutic interventions in child sexual abuse cases are often unsuccessful and can be especially counterproductive f or intrafamilial assaults. Many communities have responded with innova tive programs. Three strategies that integrate treatment with legal pr ocedures are described. They include a Pretrial Diversion program in w hich incarceration time is reduced if the offender attends a treatment program; a Post-Plea Diversion program that postpones the felony hear ing pending the successful completion of an offender treatment program , and a PreLegal Diversion program in which there was no legal interve ntion if the accused successfully completed treatment. The programs ar e described and then compared across professional activity variables. It was found that: (a) Case processing was timely and equitable across the three programs; (b) victim medical examinations were uncommon; (c ) counseling was the predominant type of service provided; and (d) ser vices were not routinely provided to families. It appears that the mos t promising strategy for first offense, intrafamilial assaults, may be the Pre-Legal Diversion program because it provides die most protecti on to children through routine medical exams and juvenile court petiti ons, and it provides the most equitable distribution of services to th e victims and offenders.