Community Assistance Program
Our original program, operating continuously since 1958, has served thousands of men and women. It assists offenders, ex-offenders, and crime-prone adults, offering job placement and housing referrals, financial assistance for bus passes and vital documents, clothing, shoes, backpacks, and other necessities.
Juvenile Anger Management Program (JAMP)
Inaugurated in 1988, JAMP teaches young people new skills to positively express their emotions in ways which cause no harm to others or themselves. Our clients are referred to us by Family Court after acting out at school, at home, or in public. The goal is to help clients understand that they have behavioral choices and teach them how to use better coping strategies to deal with their anger. The program has a success rate of over 80% of all clients who finish the course not reoffending.
Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP)
Beginning in 1991, when the State of Hawaii first began offering SOTP in its prison system, CAC has become the premier deliverer of SOTP services in the State of Hawai’i. We offer an aggressive curriculum based on research-proven Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy principles whose goal is to get those convicted of sexual offenses to take responsibility for their crimes; understand how and why they did what they did; and learn coping strategies to avoid repeating their offending behaviors. The program strives to help participants see their relationships and responsibilities to others in their communities, understand how their behavior affects everyone around them, and in particular, to gain a feeling of empathy for their victims.
CAC currently serves clients incarcerated at Halawa Correctional Facility and Women’s Community Correctional Center on Oahu; Maui Community Correctional Center; and Kulani Correctional Facility on the Big Island. We also provide Aftercare services for parolees on Maui and the Big Island, as well as residents at Hale Nani Work Furlough Center on the Big Island. Additionally, we provide SOTP services to Adult Probation clients on the Big Island, and to Federal Probation clients on Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island.
The Core Curriculum taught at Halawa and Kulani prisons is an intensive and comprehensive one. Inmates meet for two-hour sessions twice each week. The curriculum consists of six major modules: Anger and Stress Management; Communication and Social Skills; Human Sexuality and Relationship Skills; Cognitive Restructuring; Relapse Prevention; and Victim Empathy.
Inmates must meet rigorous performance standards to successfully complete the program. They are required to pass a written test for each module, and must complete all six modules in order to be eligible for parole.
The Sex Offender Treatment Program as conducted by Community Assistance Center has an impressive record of success: Out of more than 3,000 inmates who have completed the program since its inception in 1991, fewer than 6% have been convicted of committing new sexual assaults, compared to the national recidivism rate of 10%.