Children with Sexual Behavior Problems Diversion Program
When a child (under age 12) is engaging in sexual behaviors it is sometimes difficult to decide when the sexual behavior is natural and healthy
and when it may be an indication of some distress or disturbance in the child's sexual development.
The Juvenile Justice Fund (JJF), in collaboration with the Mental Health Unit of Fulton County Juvenile Court, will implement a new court approved screening tool and diversion program for children identified with sexual behavior problems in Fulton County.
The ISSACC (Intelligence, Social, Sexual, and Criminal Capacity) Survey, adapted from Jan Hindman's Juvenile Culpability Assessment, is a research-based, structured screening tool whose outcomes help to formulate opinions of those front-line professionals making legal, protective, and placement decisions about children who present with sexual behaviors outside normative age-appropriate sexual development. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Children who engage in developmentally inappropriate sexual behavior with other children
- Children who engage in abusive sexual behavior
- Children who engage in aggressive or repetitive sexual behavior
- Children who exhibit sexualized behaviors
The ISSACC Survey will help frontline professionals of DFCS, law enforcement, and probation to gather pertinent information to determine needs for legal involvement, placement and treatment. The new Diversion Program will train the frontline investigators on the tool and facilitate reporting, scheduling, and referring of these families for diversion or treatment services.
The ISSACC Survey instrument will be available on-line for DFCS workers, law enforcement investigators, and juvenile court probation officers in late fall of 2008.
The diversion portion of the program will provide family assessment, education, and follow up support to children who have been identified as presenting low risk sexual behavior problems. These programs will be voluntary, short-term and center based support services that will serve as an alternative to juvenile court involvement.
A child's age, the level of stress in the family, family violence, family sexuality and time spent in day-care may influence the type and frequency of children's sexual behaviors (Friedrich, Fisher, Broughton, Houston , & Shafran, 1998). Children's sexual behaviors, as well as their level of comfort with sexuality, may be affected by the size of the family's living space, the neighborhood in which they live, the age of siblings, their level of sexual interest, and parental, religious, societal and cultural norms, values and attitudes regarding sex and sexuality.
Providing a sexually healthy and safe environment for these children is essential for their continued development.
