Targeted Accountability for Harmful Sexual Behavior Program (TAP)

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

Sex offenders are portrayed as predators for whom only the harshest punishment seems appropriate. However, the picture is more complex, especially when juveniles are concerned. The juvenile justice system balances three purposes: public safety, reduction of delinquency, and development of individual capability for lawful behavior. For some juveniles, these purposes are best addressed by diverting cases from court. A juvenile who has been adjudicated (found guilty in court) for a sex offense is subject to significant collateral consequences. That offense will likely impact his/her employment opportunities, eligibility for educational financial aid, where he/she can live, career choices, and professional licensing limitations well into adulthood. He/she may have to register as a predatory offender for a minimum of ten years. Dakota County implemented the Targeted Accountability Program (TAP) as a diversion from court for juveniles who could have been prosecuted for inappropriate sexual behavior which is not violent or coercive in nature. Juveniles agree to interventions that are much like the ones they would have had if they were on probation including assessment, treatment, and case management. The difference is that TAP participants, upon completing terms of the program, avoid court, and the offenses do not appear in their criminal histories.