Moving Toward Evidence-Based Policy and Advocacy
A Series on Examining Youth on Registries
Post 6 of 6 - Reading time: 7 to 10 minutes
In Blog 5, Dr. Janet Rosenzweig challenged common misconceptions about youth with problematic sexual behaviors. She emphasized the importance of understanding adolescent development and the research showing that most youth do not go on to commit future sexual offenses. We explored how effective responses balance accountability with support, treatment, and healthy development.
In this final installment, Dr. Rosenzweig looks ahead, sharing her thoughts on how practitioners, policymakers, and communities can better support youth and families while building systems grounded in evidence, safety, and hope.
Given what the research shows, what changes would help align policy with what we know about adolescent development?
Research demonstrating the lack of effectiveness of sex offender registries has been published in peer-reviewed professional journals for more than 25 years, yet the practice continues. In fact, some of the juvenile registration provisions included in SORNA were adopted after the results of this research were already available. That reality forces us to ask what influences policy when the evidence points in a different direction.
Sexuality remains a taboo topic in many communities, and discussions involving children and adolescents are often even more uncomfortable. These taboos can leave families and communities without the resources needed to promote healthy sexual development and prevent problematic behaviors. When problems do arise, the response is often driven by fear and emotion rather than by science.
We know from medicine and developmental psychology that adolescence is a unique stage of life. Young people experience dramatic hormonal changes that create new and often intense sexual feelings, while the parts of the brain responsible for judgment, impulse control, risk assessment, and empathy are still developing. When sexual arousal is combined with limited knowledge, poor decision-making skills, and an immature brain, the potential for problematic behavior increases.
It is also important to recognize that adolescent problematic sexual behavior is typically very different from the behavior of the stereotypical adult sexual offender who carefully plans and ‘grooms’ victims over time. Youth are far more likely to act impulsively, with behavior driven by a combination of arousal, curiosity, opportunity, and immature judgment. Developmentally appropriate interventions should reflect those differences.
The juvenile justice system was originally designed around the understanding that young people are still developing and therefore have a greater capacity for change. Policies that impose lifelong consequences, such as sex offender registration, are largely remnants of the "tough on crime" era of the 1990s. A more developmentally informed approach would emphasize prevention, education, family support, accountability, and evidence-based treatment rather than punitive measures that research has repeatedly shown to be ineffective.
Your organization has been working on education and advocacy efforts, including partnerships with professional organizations. Can you tell us about the collaboration with the American Bar Association and the development of the Continuing Legal Education course? Why is the education of legal professionals, judges, and policymakers such an important part of shifting this conversation?
The Institute for Human Services (IHS) received a grant from the World Childhood Foundation USA (Childhood-USA)that enabled us to bring our vision of outreach to the legal community to fruition. Research and reports from colleagues across the field consistently show that legal professionals are among the last groups to incorporate the growing body of evidence demonstrating both the lack of effectiveness of sex offender registries for youth and the significant harm these policies can cause.
There has been some progress. Several states have reduced or eliminated juvenile registration requirements, and more than 150 legal challenges have been brought in state courts. However, many of the strongest advocates for reform have come from outside the legal profession. That is why we are particularly encouraged by the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law's willingness to partner with us on this effort.
The full post explores how education, advocacy, and evidence-based practice are helping reshape juvenile justice responses—and what practitioners, legal professionals, and communities can do to support meaningful change. Continue reading the blog post at www.ihs-trainet/blog.
Currently, we are developing a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) course that will be available through the ABA's CLE system and offered free of charge to ABA members. Our goal is to ensure that attorneys, judges, policymakers, and other legal professionals have access to current research on adolescent development, problematic sexual behavior, recidivism, treatment outcomes, and the real-world impact of registration policies on youth and their families.
Education is essential because legal professionals play a critical role in shaping both individual outcomes and broader public policy. As we discussed earlier, this work is part of a larger effort to return juvenile justice to its original mission: recognizing that young people are still developing and therefore have a unique capacity for growth, rehabilitation, and change.
Many of today's legal practitioners were educated and began their careers during the "tough on crime" era of the 1990s, when juvenile justice policy was heavily influenced by fear-based narratives and the now-discredited "superpredator" theory. Those policies often prioritized punishment over rehabilitation and, in many cases, amounted to what some scholars have called "crime control theater"—symbolic responses that created the appearance of safety without evidence that they actually improved public protection.
The decisions made by attorneys, judges, and policymakers frequently carry more weight in the justice system than the recommendations of clinicians, researchers, and child-serving professionals. If we want policies that reflect what we now know about adolescent development and effective interventions, we must ensure that the legal community has access to the best available science. Education is one of the most important tools we have for making that happen.
For practitioners who want to support policy change, what practical steps can they take within their professional roles?
One of the most important steps practitioners can take is to help ensure that their communities have access to evidence-based treatment services for youth with problematic sexual behaviors. Several well-established treatment models are available, and each offers professional training opportunities. Practitioners can work with local advocacy groups, such as Youth Services Commissions, children's services agencies, and Child Advocacy Centers, to identify funding and build a network of qualified professionals.
Even when resources for formal training are limited, communities can work together to implement the standards and best practices developed by the National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth (NCSBY). For example, NCSBY offers standards of care and guiding principles that any child-serving organization or coalition can use as a planning tool. Building local capacity is an important first step toward creating effective alternatives to punitive responses.
It is important to recognize that prosecutors and policymakers may view registration as the only available option when communities lack treatment resources and coordinated services. Practitioners can help change that narrative by identifying and organizing existing resources, improving collaboration among agencies, and advocating to fill gaps in services. The stronger a community's treatment and support system, the less likely it is to rely on ineffective punitive approaches.
There are also several actions that all professionals can take regardless of their role. First, use person-first, developmentally appropriate language. Referring to "youth with problematic sexual behaviors" rather than "juvenile sex offenders" helps reduce stigma and reflects what we know about adolescent development and the potential for change. Research has shown that labels can influence how young people are perceived and treated.
Second, professionals can use their positions within child-serving systems to promote access to medically accurate, age-appropriate sexual health education through schools, healthcare providers, youth-serving organizations, and faith communities. Prevention begins with helping young people understand healthy relationships, boundaries, consent, and responsible decision-making.
Finally, practitioners can become informed consumers and communicators of research. Sharing evidence about the limited effectiveness of registries, the success of evidence-based treatment, and the harms that registration can impose on youth, families, and communities can help shift public understanding and support more effective policies. Meaningful change often begins with professionals who are willing to bring evidence, rather than fear, into the conversation.
What gives you hope about the future of prevention and evidence-based responses to youth with problematic sexual behaviors?
This may not be the answer people expect, but one reason I am optimistic is the growing recognition of technology-facilitated sexual behaviors among youth. As more young people come to the attention of the juvenile justice system for online offenses, such as sharing sexual images, engaging in inappropriate online communications, or other technology-related behaviors, the limitations of punitive responses become increasingly apparent. These cases often highlight the developmental realities of adolescence and underscore the need for interventions that are effective, evidence-based, and focused on education, accountability, and rehabilitation.
I am also encouraged by the number of states that have already reduced or eliminated juvenile registration requirements, as well as by the growing coalition of researchers, advocates, clinicians, attorneys, judges, and policymakers who are working to align policy with what we know about adolescent development. Meaningful change is often slow, but we are seeing momentum build.
At the same time, I remain concerned about our nation's commitment to prevention. One of the most important protective factors for young people is access to age-appropriate, medically accurate information about sexuality, healthy relationships, consent, boundaries, and empathy. Yet many young people still receive little guidance in these areas, leaving them to seek information from peers, social media, or other
unreliable sources. More youth are learning about sex from pornography than from qualified educators, a potentially dangerous situation that can feed into illegal and problematic sexual behaviors. There are encouraging innovations. For example, the WhatsOK.org website provides young people with reliable information and answers to questions about sexual thoughts and behaviors in a nonjudgmental, developmentally appropriate way. Programs like this demonstrate what prevention can look like when we meet young people where they are. However, these efforts have not yet reached the scale needed to ensure that every young person has access to trustworthy information and support.
Ultimately, what gives me hope is that the science is clear, the evidence continues to grow, and more people are willing to follow that evidence. We know that prevention works. We know that evidence-based treatment works. And we know that most youth who engage in problematic sexual behaviors can be redirected toward healthy development. The challenge ahead is not discovering what works—it is finding the will to make those approaches available in every community.
Summary
Throughout this six-part series, Dr. Janet Rosenzweig has challenged us to move beyond fear, myths, and outdated assumptions about youth with problematic sexual behaviors. We have explored what the research tells us about adolescent development, recidivism, treatment effectiveness, prevention, and the unintended harms of policies such as juvenile sex offender registration. Most importantly, this series has highlighted a hopeful and evidence-based reality: young people have a tremendous capacity for growth, accountability, and positive change when communities respond with appropriate interventions and support.
As practitioners, policymakers, educators, and community members, we each have a role to play in advancing policies and practices grounded in science rather than stigma. We encourage readers to continue learning, engage in thoughtful conversations, share accurate information, and advocate for approaches that promote prevention, healthy development, public safety, and better outcomes for youth and families. Meaningful change begins when evidence—not fear—guides the conversation. To learn more about the topic of youth on registries, visit our website at www.cmprc.org/blog