Ohio stops paying to help sex offenders

The decision is a concern for an agency that has treated sex offenders from Mahoning County.

AKRON (AP) — The state has stopped paying for counseling services for paroled sex offenders because of budget constraints, a move that leaves many offenders without the ability to pay for much-needed therapy, critics say.

The decision by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction means there are high-risk sex offenders going unchecked, said Dr. James Orlando of Summit Psychological Associates, which treats about 200 sex offenders in Summit, Stark, Portage, Tuscarawas and Mahoning counties.

“They are being left to their own devices not to re-offend,” Orlando said. “If we don’t find a way to manage them in the community, there are going to be more sex offenses and more people are going to be victimized.”

The state payment of $35 per counseling session enabled offenders to get treatment, said Orlando, who plans to approach county mental health boards to fill the funding gap.

In the meantime he has set up a sliding scale payment system with minimal co-payments. But many paroled sex offenders are unemployed and find it difficult to find jobs because of their felony records, Orlando said.

The state-funding cut was part of a $71 million reduction in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s budget. Ohio had spent about $1.3 million a year funding external treatment programs for sex offenders, said Linda Janes, a deputy director in the department.

“We feel absolutely awful about the cuts but it’s a consequence of the budget crisis,” Janes said.

The state is trying to shift the task of counseling paroled sex offenders to the department’s Adult Parole Authority, which could begin in May, Janes said.

Sex offenders on parole would be able to go to adult parole offices, which are located in every county, for treatment and counseling, she said.

Orlando said the goal of sex-offender treatment is to give offenders the tools to control their urges.

“Even though you [an offender] will still have deviant desires, you won’t act on it,” he said.