A Community-Based Approach
Happy 4th of July!!!
One of my goals for this blog is to pass on helpful information, articles, and links. I am a firm believer in “Knowledge is Power” but only if a person can use it. Hopefully, the information in this blog and future blogs can be useful.
This was an article from Stop It Now! Parent Talk, Fall 2007. http://www.stopitnow.org/parentalk. Wrap around services can be an important component for youth and their family’s to get their treatment needs met in the least restrictive enviroment in the community.
A Community-Based Approach to Healing Families
by Stephen Gilbertson
American children and adolescents most often report that their primary source of information about sexuality is media (television, music & the Internet). Certainly we are all aware that the entertainment media, and even the news media, in our country have become increasingly sexualized. Unfortunately, we as parents, the schools and community organizations tend to do little to either insulate our kids from, or prepare them to interpret, the messages with which they are bombarded.
Unfortunately, growing numbers of youth across the country have engaged in illegal sexual acts and have experienced life-altering legal consequences for their sexual behavior. Laws and community practices aimed at preventing known adult sexual offenders from committing further sexual crimes are increasingly being applied to youth, including sex offender registration, community notification and residency restrictions. Within this societal context, it is becoming increasingly critical that once youth are identified as having engaged in inappropriate and/or abusive sexual behavior that appropriate assessment and effective treatment are made available.
Wraparound Milwaukee is a program which serves over 600 families daily. Of those, approximately 120 are families affected by the serious sexual misconduct of their children and adolescents. The “wraparound” approach is aimed at creating comprehensive, highly individualized and tailored care for the whole family when serious sexual misconduct has occurred. While many communities across the country have relied on harsh legal responses and institutional/residential treatment for these youth, Wraparound Milwaukee has worked to promote humane legal responses and holistic and compassionate family education and treatment aimed at healing and prevention.
Often, parents whose child or adolescent has come to the attention of authorities due to sexual misconduct are shocked by both the disclosure of their child’s behavior and by the system response and therefore need ongoing support and guidance. Unfortunately, many communities do not yet make available knowledgeable support and guidance for parents faced with such complexity and distress. The Stop It Now! Helpline can be a confidential resource to parents with questions and in need of support in managing this stress.
The respectful partnership between parents and professionals is a key to success.
The wraparound approach involves the development of a “child and family team”. This team most often includes members of the family, treatment professionals, probation officer or child welfare worker, support persons, and a wraparound care coordinator who facilitates the team process. The team meets regularly and works together to insure that the family’s existing strengths, talents, and resources are being utilized and magnified to meet their needs. Working toward healing of the family and the safety of all is a shared mission. The respectful partnership between parents and professionals is a key to success.
Parents who are empowered with knowledge about what works are in the best position to advocate for an appropriate response to their child and family.
Parents should immediately consult their family physician and/or local social service agencies to discover resources for addressing sexual behavior problems if they arise. Early detection and intervention can prevent further harm and serious legal outcomes for youth with sexual behavior problems. Most youth, (approximately 90%), and their families, who receive appropriate education and treatment tend not to have further problems with sexual misconduct.
If your child comes before the Court for sexual misconduct, advocate for close collaboration between the legal and mental health systems, including a psychosexual assessment of your child by a qualified professional, to fully inform those making decisions.
In most cases, institutional placement should not be necessary with creative planning and community-based access to needed services. In many states right now it is possible to avoid or later remove (expunge) the legal record of sexual assault if treatment is completed and there are no further problems with the law.
The system should first “do no harm” in its response to youth with sexual behavior problems. Parents who are empowered with knowledge about what works are in the best position to advocate for an appropriate response to their child and family.
Stephen Gilbertson, M.S. is the Clinical Program Administrator for Wraparound Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI