...this analysis compares functional family therapy (fft) to treatment as usual for youth released from juvenile rehabilitation facilities who have committed sexual offenses. fft is a structured family-based intervention that uses a multi-step approach to enhance protective factors and reduce risk factors in the family. the five major components of fft include 1) engagement, 2) motivation, 3) identifying patterns of interaction within the family, 4) behavior change, and 5) generalizing positive interactions to new situations. fft sessions are conducted primarily in the home of the participant’s family. fft was not modified or adapted to address the specific needs of youth who have committed sexual offenses. all participants were youth convicted of sex offenses being released from juvenile rehabilitation facilities after serving their sentence. fft participants received 12-16 therapy sessions over 11 months, on average. youth in the comparison group received treatment as usual for juvenile sex offenders (tau-jso), which consisted of weekly or bi-weekly individual and/or group therapy sessions over 22 months. in the included study, 28% of participants were youth of color and 3% were female. youth were classified as low or moderate risk per scores on a validated recidivism risk instrument. evaluations of fft for court-involved and post-release youth convicted of non-sexual offenses are excluded from this analysis and analyzed separately....

...this analysis includes evaluations of cognitive behavioral therapy (cbt) treatment programs delivered during incarceration to individuals convicted of a sexual offense. cbt aims to help individuals learn to identify and change cognitive deficits, distortions, and flawed thinking processes that can cause criminal behavior through a structured, goal-oriented process with a trained or licensed specialist. components often in these programs include cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation, emotion regulation, communication skills, and problem-solving. these individuals either volunteer or are mandated to participate during confinement to address the behaviors associated with their current offense. in some studies, participants are placed in a separate secured living unit or secured psychiatric facility with other individuals convicted of sex offenses with the aim of fostering a therapeutic environment ideal for individual change. programs in the analysis varied in length and intensity, lasting anywhere from four months to several years. programs were included in the analysis if they had at least a single programmatic component of cbt. evaluations of non-cbt programs for incarcerated individuals convicted of sexual offenses or evaluations of programs in the community for the same population were excluded from the analysis. ...

...cognitive behavioral therapy (cbt) include various components, such as cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation, emotion regulation, communication skills, and problem-solving. treatment is goal-oriented and generally of limited duration. cbt emphasizes individual accountability and teaches participants that cognitive deficits, distortions, and flawed thinking processes cause criminal behavior. for this broad grouping of studies, a variety of “brand name” programs (e.g., enhanced thinking skills, moral reconation therapy, reasoning and rehabilitation, and thinking 4 a change) were delivered to adults in either an institutional or community setting for an average of 2.5 months. studies evaluating cbt delivered specifically as sex offender treatment were excluded from this analysis. using multivariate regression analysis of the effect sizes, we investigated additional policy questions about cbt, including whether the program was manualized; delivered in the community or during incarceration; incorporated the correctional principles of “risk need responsivity” (rnr) or performed quality of assurance. we did not detect any statistically significant differences in the results based on these factors. ...

...parent-child interaction therapy (pcit) in child welfare populations has been successfully tested with the addition of a group motivational component to increase engagement and success of the parent. as in standard pcit, over the course of 12 to 14 sessions, a therapist directly observes a parent and child through a one-way mirror, and provides direct coaching to the parent through a radio earphone. the focus is building the skills of the parent to more positively interact with the child and manage his or her behavior. ...

...modular treatment (match) consists of a collection of 33 modules from three standard treatment types for child anxiety (coping cat), depression (primary and secondary control enhancement training), and disruptive behavior (behavioral parent training/defiant child). modular treatment uses a “guiding algorithm” that allows the therapies to vary based on treatment response. for example, the match therapist could jump ahead in the treatment protocol, could omit modules, or could use procedures from multiple programs. match is typically delivered in an individual modality but may include one or more family members for some modules. this analysis includes match provided to children with depression, anxiety, conduct disorders, or trauma. on average, children in match received 19 therapeutic hours over seven months. children in the comparison group received standard therapy, which may consist of models such as coping cat, primary and secondary control enhancement training, or behavioral parent training/defiant child but did not include a guiding algorithm or flexible modules of these treatments. comparison group children received an average of 24 therapeutic hours over a period of eight months....

...functional family probation and parole (ffp) is a case management program modeled after functional family therapy (fft). ffp was designed to supervise youth in the community on probation or parole. like fft, ffp is a structured, family-based intervention that uses a multi-step approach to enhance protective factors (e.g., school attendance) and reduce risk factors (e.g., antisocial attitudes) in the family. the five phases of this program include 1) engagement, 2) motivation, 3) identifying patterns of interaction within the family, 4) behavior change, and 5) generalizing positive interactions to new situations. each phase helps to support incremental change for the youth and family. ffp typically involves 12 to 14 therapist visits over a three- to five-month period. therapists are trained by fft llc. in this analysis, ffp was delivered to youth on parole after being released from confinement and one study examined youth on probation. youth participated in ffp for an average of six months. comparison youth received either no treatment or treatment and probation as usual. although risk level was not reported in these studies, youth had some degree of prior involvement with the justice system. among included studies that reported demographics, 63% of participants were youth of color and 10% were female. ...

...parenting with love and limits (pll) is a therapeutic community intervention for families of children with serious emotional or behavioral problems including aggression, conduct disorders, chronic truancy, drug or alcohol abuse, trauma, or anxiety and depression. pll is designed for youth ages 10 to 18 in the juvenile justice, child welfare, or mental health systems who are at risk of being placed outside the home (e.g., detention, foster care). pll includes individual therapy for the youth, parent training sessions, and family therapy. unlike other family therapies, pll relies on a multiple family group approach with four to six families in a group setting and two co-facilitators for six to eight weeks of parenting training. in addition to group therapy, the youth and parent participate in 4 to 12 family therapy sessions approximately two hours each. in this review of pll delivered within the juvenile justice setting, most studies examined court-involved youth who received pll as an alternative placement from confinement, and one study examined pll as reentry into the community. youth were assessed as moderate to high risk for recidivism. youth received services over 6.5 months on average. court-involved youth received four treatment sessions per month over 2.5 months of service on average, while post-release youth received services over an average of 12 months on supervision. among included studies that report demographics, 65% of participants were youth of color and 21% were female. pll youth were compared to youth who received probation as usual and mental health services as usual. ...