From custody to community: Development of assessment and treatment for juveniles serving sentences for sex offences in an Irish context

Abstract

The Baseline Project provided an assessment package and treatment for juveniles (aged 16–21 years) serving sentences for sexual offences, and was the only such programme available in Ireland (ROI). It was a venture between the Northside Inter-Agency Project and the Psychology Department of the Irish Prison Service and worked with juveniles on a continuum from custody to community. The Project piloted the provision of a rolling group programme to a generic group (n=42), those with sexually deviant histories (n=11) and five individuals convicted of sexual offences, who also engaged in individual work. The Project was evaluated through qualitative interviews and individual case studies. Findings suggested the importance of targeting criminogenic and sexual risk factors with this population and of a partnership approach with families/partners and agencies to enable the juvenile to maintain change post-release. Suggestions for future directions for treatment of juveniles are discussed.