National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth

The National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth (NCSBY) is a part of the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (CCAN) in the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences. In 2001, CCAN was selected by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to establish NCSBY to develop resources and training material for professions from multiple disciplines (probation, mental health, medicine, education, child welfare, law, law enforcement, and the judiciary) addressing youth with problematic or illegal sexual behavior. As part of the initial three-year project, CCAN established NCSBY.org, a web-based resource center for professionals, and a National Advisory Board. The website included curriculum, cataloged assessment instruments, registration law information by states, and fact sheets.

Recent funding from OJJDP provided support for updating and maintaining the NCSBY website for professionals and parents and other caregivers, with plans to develop a section designed for youth to promote healthy, pro-social lifestyles. The information on this website is designed to improve the accuracy, accessibility, and strategic use of information about the nature, incidence, prevalence, prevention, treatment, and management of youth with problematic sexual behavior. Information to help parents and professionals understand and support healthy sexual development and appropriate decision making is also provided.

The transformation of the NCSBY website originated with an OJJDP grant to the Maine Department of Corrections (MDOC). The MDOC subcontracted with the University of Maine.  Drs. Sue Righthand and Jeffrey Hecker coordinated this project and were assisted by Drs. Asia Serwik and Douglas Nangle and worked closely with MDOC administrators Lars Olsen and Renna Hegg.  To facilitate early intervention, leaders in the field on interventions with children who have sexual behavior problems, Drs. Jane Silovsky and Alison Gray, also provided training and consultation. This team concluded that a web based resource designed to provide the latest research findings for understanding and working with children and teenagers with problematic and illegal sexual behavior would enable the work of this project to continue. The website would allow evidence based information to be available to a wide audience of treatment providers, juvenile justice professionals, attorneys and judges, and policy makers, as well as youth and families.  Dr. Righthand led this effort during the MDOC project. Following the Maine’s OJJDP grant, the MDOC provided draft documents to CCAN for the National Center for Sexual Behavior in Youth to complete this resource and make it available on this website.

 Youth with Sexual Behavior Problems Program

NCSBY is also designed to disseminate the efforts of the OJJDP and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART)’s Youth with Sexual Behavior Problems Program. This program targets late childhood and early adolescence for implementing evidence-based, coordinated, comprehensive management and intervention strategies to address problematic sexual behavior of youth, the effects on child victims, and their families.  Focusing on late childhood and early adolescence for comprehensive and early intervention management strategies to address problematic sexual behavior of youth has a high potential for impact. Greater than one-third of sexual offenses against child victims are committed by other youth (Finkelhor, Ormrod, & Chaffin, 2009), with 12-14 year olds being the peak ages.

Efficacious early interventions have been developed and evaluated that address the needs of youth with problematic sexual behaviors, child victims, and their families. These evidence-based practices (EBPs) share a common underlying theory and emphasis on working with caregivers. However, across the nation, family members are commonly separated and served by different service agencies (if referred at all for services) and rarely provided EBPs. The youth with problematic sexual behavior may unnecessarily be sent away to residential care or other out of home placements. Multiple agency, system, and policy level barriers impact referral, access, and engagement in services. The efforts of OJJDP and SMART to establish community-based EBPs across the nation is intended to lead to individual, family, community, and society benefits.

For contact information and location of the TTA team and Service Grantees click here.

Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (CCAN)

OJJDP selected CCAN to implement training and technical assistance for the OJJDP Youth with Sexual Behavior Problems programs across the country. Training and technical assistance (T/TA) is provided to sites funded by OJJDP to develop and sustain the programs.

CCAN is a university-based Center that directs research, professional and public education, clinical services, and administrative programs in the field of child maltreatment. Since its establishment in 1992, CCAN has become a nationally prominent and influential Center for child maltreatment research, training, and service. Under the direction of Dr. Barbara Bonner, the CCAN research and training agenda addresses the scientific understanding of how child maltreatment and adversity impact child health and well-being, as well as the development, refinement, and widespread implementation of evidence-based prevention and treatment practices. Services, training and research in the problematic sexual behavior of youth has been a longstanding focus of CCAN. Treatment services for the youth and their caregivers has been provided since the 1980s. Dr. Bonner, Director of CCAN, established the Adolescents with Illegal Sexual Behavior Treatment Program at OUHSC in 1985 and the Children with Problematic Sexual Behavior Program Treatment Program in 1992. The services were adapted and expanded to serve preschool children in 1997. The treatment programs for children and adolescents are ongoing and have served hundreds of youth and their caregivers. Members of the CCAN faculty provide training to professionals throughout the United States and internationally in the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with problematic sexual behavior.

NCSBY Training and Technical Assistance Team Members

  Jane F. Silovsky, PhD, Professor, is a licensed Clinical Child Psychologist and the Associate Director of the Center on  Child Abuse and Neglect. Dr. Silovsky received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Alabama. Currently, she is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the        University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Dr. Silovsky is the Director of the National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth and also provides training and technical assistance to communities implementing evidence-based treatment for youth with problematic sexual behavior. Since 1997, she has    been the Director of the Children with Sexual Behavior Problems program, an assessment, treatment, and research program for preschool and school age children with problematic sexual behavior. Dr. Silovsky’s research is in the area of treatment outcome and program evaluation of services for children    affected by child maltreatment.

Dolores Subia BigFoot, PhD, is trained as a child psychologist and is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC). She is the Director of the Native American Programs at the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect at OUHSC. She has directed Project Making Medicine since 2003 and currently directs the Indian Country Child Trauma Center where she was instrumental in the culturally adapted interventions of evidence based treatments that form the Honoring Children Series. Each of these models incorporates AI/AN teachings, practices, rituals, traditions, and cultural orientation while maintaining the guiding principles and theory.

Barbara L. Bonner, PhD, a licensed Clinical Child Psychologist, is a Professor and the CMRI/Jean Gumerson Endowed Chair, Director of the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (CCAN) and Associate Director of the Child Study Center (CSC) in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC). She established the Adolescents with Illegal Sexual Behavior Treatment Program at OUHSC in 1985 and the Children with Sexual Behavior Problems Treatment Program in 1992. She authored a publication for SaferSociety Press entitled, Taking Action: Support for Families of Adolescents with Illegal Sexual Behavior, a booklet designed to provide information and suggestions for parents and caregivers. Dr. Bonner has presented nationally and internationally on children and adolescents with problematic sexual behavior, and child maltreatment.

   Steven Fowler, BS, is a Reseach Project Coordinator for the problematic sexual behavior training and technical assistance program at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. He earned his BS in Psychology from Cameron University in 2009. Mr.        Fowler's focus is management and support for the database for OJJDP funded projects. He previously spent four years in data management for cancer research. He has a strong Computer Science/IT background as well.

Julia Jones, MS, is a Licensed Professional Counselor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. She received her Master of Science in Counseling Psychology from the Universtiy of Central Oklahoma in 2002. She is a lead clinician in the Treatment Program for Children with Problematic Sexual Behavior. Ms. Jones provides training and technical assistance on children ages 7-14 with problematic sexual behavior. Ms. Jones is trained in and provides Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and she is a certified Parent-Child Interaction Therapy therapist. She also has training in treatment of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Sharon "Shel" Millington, MA, is a Licensed Professional Counselor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She received her Naster of Arts in Counseling Psychology from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2014. Ms. Millington is the Co-Director and a lead clinician in the Adolescent with Illegal Sexual Behavior Program. She oversees the coordination of all the PSB treatment programs at the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Ms. Millington provides training and technical assistance on the treatment of problematic sexual behavior of children and adolescents with illegal sexual behavior. She is trained in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. Ms. Millington also provides treatment services to young children with a history of prenatal substance exposure.

Amanda Mitten, MA, is a Licensed Professional Counselor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She received her Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2014. Ms. Mitten is the Program Coordinator and lead clinician in the Child Trauma Services Program. She is a certified therapist in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and provides training on the impact of trauma on children. Ms. Mitten provides training and technical assistance on children ages 7-14 with problematic sexual behavior.

Angela Raper, BA, is a Sponsored Program Coordinator at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center where she has been employed since 2002. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from the Univeristy of Central Oklahoma in 2007. Since 2011, Ms. Raper has been the coordinator of sponsored projects for the Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, overseeing the financial, grant and contract management of a diverse group of projects. She has also illustrated many of the treatment manuals, handouts, and posters used by several treatment and training programs.

Carrie Schwab, AA, is a Research Project Coodinator at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center where she has been employed since 2008. She received her Associates in Arts in Diversified Studies from the Oklahoma City Community College in 2009. Ms. Schwab has been the Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator for the Problematic Sexual Behavior - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (PSB-CBT) Training and Technical Assistance Program since 2010. Ms. Schwab coordinates training and technical assistance for professionals locally, nationally, and internationlly, manages multi-media approaches to training, and regularly evaluates the training provided. She is the Co-Chair and Coordinator for the National Symposium on Sexual Behavior of Youth, and she also manages the social media forms for the National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth.

Paul Shawler, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Okahoma Health Sciences Center. He received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Oklahoma State University. He is trained in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and has experience in treatment of youth with developmental disabilities. Dr. Shawler is a lead clinician in the Adolescent with Illegal Sexual Behavior Program. He also has clinical experience working preschool and school-age children with problematic sexual behavior. Dr. Shawler provides training and technical assistance on the treatment of problematic sexual behavior of children and adolescents with illegal sexual behavior.

Erin Taylor, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She completed her undergraduate at Vanderbuilt University and received her doctorate from the University of Missouri. She is the program coordinator and lead clinician in the Treatment Program for Children with Problematic Sexual Behavior for preschool-age children. She provides training and technical assistance for treatment of children ages 7-14 with problematic sexual behavior. Dr. Tayor is trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, and Multisystemic Therapy.

Elizabeth Bard, PhD, is a Licensed Psychologist and Assistant Professor at CCAN at OUHSC. She received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Oklahoma and completed the APA approved post-doctoral training program at OUHSC. Dr. Bard is a Master Trainer in the Children with Problematic Sexual Behavior-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (PSB-CBT) treatment model. She currently is the co-director of the PSB-CBT school age program and provides training to students as well as state and regional providers in PSB-CBT. Dr. Bard conducts treatment and clinical training in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and is the Director of the A Better Chance Clinic, which services infants and children with prenatal exposure to substances.

Susan Schmidt, PhD, is a licensed counseling psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Dr. Schmidt is a member of the national Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Trainer Network. She is the Director of Oklahoma TF-CBT, which provided statewide and national professional traiing and consultation in child trauma assessment and TF-CBT treatment. Dr. Schmidt serves as the Co-Director of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Child Trauma Services Program, which specializes in family and group-based TF-CBT, graduate-level clinical training and supervision in child trauma assessment and treatment, and clinical research on childhood posttraumatic stress. Additionally, Dr. Schmidt conducts clinical treatment and professional training in the Adolescents with Illegal Sexual Behavior Treatment Program.

Carrie Jenkins, MA, completed her undergraduate studies at Elon University where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Medicine. She completed her Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. Carrie has worked in a Children's Advocacy setting throughout her career. She currently works as a forensic interviewer, therapist, and is the Sub-Specialty Leader for the Sexual Behavior Problems Program at the Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center. She completed the University of Oklahoma's training for PSB-CBT and has been poviding treatment services to youth with problematic sexual behaviors since 2010. Ms. Jenkins is a Regional Trainer for the PSB-CBT program and is currently a Within Agency Trainer for the same. She is also the Co-Chair for the National Children's Alliance Workgroup for youth with problematic sexual behaviors. Ms. Jenkins is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor Candidate through the state of South Carolina. Ms. Jenkins is rostered as a TF-CBT trained clinician in South Carolina and served on the faculty for Project BEST (Bringing Evidence Supported Treatment to the children in South Carolina).

Julia Grimm, LISW-CP, is a graduate of the USC College of Social Work MSW program. She has worked at the Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center for eight years and currently serves in the role of Clinical and Forensic Team Supervisor. Ms. Grimm is a national trainer in Problematic Sexual Behavior - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents (PSB-CBT-A) and a within agency trainer for the school-age model (PSB-CBT-S). Ms. Grimm has been treating youth with problematic sexual behaviors and training on the topic for nine years. In addition, she is also a trainer in Risk Reduction through Family Therapy (RRFT), and evidence supported intervention for adolescents with co-occurring PTSD, substance use and other risky behaviors. Ms. Grimm is a state-rostered TF-CBT provider, as well. Outside of her role at Dee Norton, Ms. Grimm is an Adjunct Faculty member for the USC College of Social Work MSW program and a Field Instructor for MSW students at Dee Norton. She currently sits on the NASW-SC Board of Directors.

Benjamin Sigel, PhD, is aLicensed Psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Universtiy of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). He received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Oklahoma State University. His areas of expertise include assessment and treatment of children with a history of experiencing trauma and children with problematic sexual behavior. He is the Project Director of the UAMS Arkansas Network of Early Stress and Trauma and inolved the UAMS Arkansas Building Effective Services for Trauma programs. Dr. Sigel is also the Director of the UAMS Child Study Center Traumatic Stress Clinic. He is a National Trainer in Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and is a Level II Parent-Child Interaction Therapy trainer. He provides training and technical assistance for children ages 7-14 with problematic sexual behavior.

NCSBY Advisory Board
• Lucy Berliner, MSW, Harborview Sexual Assault Center
• Michael Caldwell, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Maia Christopher, Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers
• Jeff Fitzsimmons, JD, National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse
• Kristine Jensen, Probation Officer, Colorado, 18th Judicial District
• Michael Johnson, Boy Scouts of America – Youth Protection Team
• Denise Kane, PhD; Inspector General of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
• Nancy Kellogg, MD, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio
• David Kolko, PhD, University of Pittsburg – School of Medicine
• Elizabeth Letourneau, PhD, John Hopkins University
• Chris Newlin, MS, LPC, National Children’s Advocacy Center
• Nicole Pittman, ESQ, Stoneleigh Fellow
• Deborah Rice, Executive Director, Stop It Now!
• Lawrence Ricci, MD, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Director Spurwick Child Abuse Program
• Sue Righthand, PhD, University of Maine
• Kecia Rongen, Program Administrator, Department of Social and Health Services, WA
• Kathy Simms, MSW, National Resource Center for Child Protective Services
• Judge Stuart, District Judge, Oklahoma
• Jennifer Yuzuk, MA, Senior Probation Officer
• Frank Zimring, JD, Berkley University