Texas Administrative Code › Title 22 - EXAMINING BOARDS › Part 36 - COUNCIL ON SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT › Chapter 810 - COUNCIL ON SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT › Subchapter C - STANDARDS OF PRACTICE › Section 810.63 - General Assessment Standards for Adult Sex Offenders and Juveniles Who Commit Sexual Offenses

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) The
				  comprehensive assessment shall focus on the strengths, risks, and needs of the
				  client, and identifying factors from social and sexual history, which may
				  contribute to sexual deviance. Assessments shall provide the basis for the
				  development of comprehensive treatment plans and shall provide recommendations
				  regarding the intensity of intervention, specific treatment protocol needed,
				  amenability to treatment, as well as the identified risk the adult sex offender
				  and/or the juvenile who commit sexual offenses presents to the
				  community.
(b) Licensees shall
				  refrain from assessment protocols outside the scope and recognized boundaries
				  of the licensee's competencies.
(c)
				  Licensees may provide treatment to a client for whom they have conducted an
				  assessment.
(d) In preparing
				  assessments of adult sex offenders and juveniles who commit sexual offenses,
				  licensees shall:
(1) be culturally sensitive,
				  fair and impartial, providing objective and accurate data;
(2) respond only to referral questions that
				  fall within the licensee's expertise and present level of knowledge;
(3) be respectful of the client's right to be
				  informed of the reasons for the assessment, the interpretation of data, the
				  basis for recommendations, and conclusions;
(4) have knowledge of the client's legal
				  status;
(5) understand the
				  limitations of a client's self-report and make all possible efforts to verify
				  the information provided by the client;
(6) use assessment procedures and techniques
				  sufficient to respond to the presenting issues, including risk for future
				  sexual offending, and provide appropriate substantiation for the resulting
				  conclusions and recommendations;
(7) administer, score, interpret and/or
				  utilize assessment techniques, tests or instruments in a manner and for
				  purposes for which there are professional or scientific bases;
(8) administer, score, interpret and/or
				  utilize assessment techniques, tests or instruments in a manner and for
				  purposes for which the assessment technique has been standardized;
(9) acknowledge if an assessment consisted of
				  only a clinical review without client contact and shall clarify the impact that
				  limited information has on the reliability and validity of the resulting
				  report;
(10) provide clients in
				  writing informed consent, statement of disclosures, releases and/or exceptions
				  to confidentiality, and employ verbal explanations for clients who do not meet
				  the reading or comprehension level required;
(11) thoroughly review written documentation
				  and collateral interviews. The information from all available and relevant
				  sources, may include but is not limited to:
(A) criminal investigation records;
(B) child protective services
				  investigations;
(C) previous
				  assessments and treatment progress reports;
(D) mental health records and
				  assessments;
(E) medical
				  records;
(F) Texas Department of
				  Criminal Justice and Texas Juvenile Justice Department records;
(G) probation records;
(H) information regarding details of the
				  offense as obtained by law enforcement; and
(I) the official victim statement(s);
				  and
(12) ensure written
				  assessments document and acknowledge the procedures employed, summaries,
				  conclusions, recommendations, and all collateral reports and
				  interviews.