Court-Mandated Treatment

Court-mandated treatment is also referred to as court-ordered treatment, state-ordered treatment, or compulsory treatment. It is a form of therapeutic intervention ordered by the courts or sanctioned by the state as a rehabilitative effort for criminal offenders. Mandatory treatment most often occurs in community settings, as opposed to correctional treatment in an institution (e.g., criminal mental hospital, prison, or jail). In the case of criminal offenders, courts often order the type, frequency, and/or length of mandatory treatment specific to correcting the offending behavior. Probation officers (or parole officers, when an offender has been incarcerated prior to the referral to treatment) are charged with the duty of monitoring court-ordered treatment. Mandatory treatment is often a condition of the probation or parole agreement and allows the courts to revoke probation or parole and implement incarceration for failure to comply with the terms of the agreement, such as failure to participate, make progress, or initiate treatment. Domestic violence offenders, sex offenders, and substance abusers are the most common offenders referred for mandatory treatment. Juveniles, including truant children, may also be sentenced to engage in such treatment.

State agencies have the power to order treatment and make engaging in treatment a requirement for averting arrest and/or the loss of some liberties. For example, as a means of intervention, child protective services often refer parents deemed abusive toward their children, following an investigation, to mandatory treatment.

The types of treatment that can be implemented during mandatory treatment vary and may include one (or a combination) of the following: group therapy, individual therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, and/or psychoeducation. These treatment types may be based on a number of psychological theories or modes of intervention, such as cognitive-behavioral, strict behavioral, or structural family therapy or others which may be deemed more appropriate for the offender and offending behaviors. Cognitive-behavioral interventions with psychoeducation have been found to be the most effective for mandatory treatment of criminal offenders. For example, the goals of a sex offender treatment program are likely to include having the offender (a) take full responsibility, (b) identify and change cognitive distortion, and (c) identify and change their behavioral responses to cues, among other [Page 90]goals. Individuals referred for child-rearing issues or juvenile delinquency often include a combination of psychoeducation and family therapy.

At one time, almost any licensed mental health professional could provide mandatory treatment. However, as the demand for such treatment increased, both state-imposed regulations and professionally developed standards emerged. Some states issue a license or registration to a provider who meets their qualifications for providing specific forms of mandatory treatment and then require referrals for the treatment. A recent example of how registered mandatory-treatment networks are developed occurred in 2000 with the passage of Proposition 36 in California. Proposition 36 diverts first-time nonviolent drug offenders to treatment rather than incarceration. Once the voters passed this measure, the state was to create a referral network based on the needs of the offender; thus, inpatient detoxification programs, outpatient providers, and residential programs needed to be identified, inspected to ensure compliance with state regulations, registered with the state, and made available to offenders.

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