Counseling Toughened for Spouse Abuse Cases : Corrections: Under new rules set out by a county agency, convicted batterers must attend 32 group sessions in a 36-week period.

Ventura County is tightening its standards for domestic violence counseling so men convicted of beating their wives cannot avoid jail by simply calling a psychologist or attending an occasional therapy session.

Following the mandates of a new state law, the county Corrections Services Agency has set out strict standards for nonprofit groups that counsel abusers who seek therapy in order to avoid a jail term.

Under the new rules, convicted batterers must attend 32 group sessions in a 36-week period. The programs must focus on the abusers’ responsibility for their actions, not on substance abuse or family counseling.

And counselors must file paperwork to keep probation officers informed if abusers skip too many sessions. Probation officers, in turn, must keep victims and any current partner informed of the progress of the program and report any further violence.

“It’s an attempt to give some kind of structure to the services that are provided,” said Karen Staples, court services division manager for the county corrections agency.

For years, California law has allowed judges to divert abusers into counseling programs rather than jail. But judges had discretion over the duration and type of treatment the batterers received.

“There have absolutely been times when the system has been manipulated by people with money and a good attorney,” said Jamie Leigh, executive director of the Ventura County Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.

When football star O.J. Simpson was convicted of abusing his wife, Nicole, in 1989, his treatment began with actual therapy sessions but ended with phone calls to a counselor. The judge in that case, Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge Ronald R. Schoenberg, has come under criticism now that Simpson stands accused of the murders of Nicole Simpson and a friend last month.

In a local case, Moorpark resident James Linkenauger attended court-ordered counseling in 1990, but continued abusing his wife, Joanne, throughout the program, according to court records. He was convicted of murdering her in a violent episode 2 1/2 years later.

Under the old rules, some abusers attended five sessions on anger control, while others remained in therapy for the better part of a year. Some simply went to alcohol or drug abuse programs. Others went into family counseling with the spouses or children they abused.

What’s more, they had two years to complete the programs and little monitoring of how often they attended sessions.

The new guidelines, which took effect July 1, should prevent the mishmash of approaches to the domestic violence problem, Leigh said. They will also condense the counseling into a nine-month period.

Under the guidelines, agencies that want to provide counseling must apply to the county corrections office with a detailed plan for counseling and staffing. Four agencies have applied in Ventura County and are awaiting approval. Among them are Leigh’s organization and Interface Children Family Services of Ventura County.

The county currently has about 500 abusers diverted from jail to therapy. And probation officers prepare reports for the Municipal Court on about 45 cases each month, according to the corrections agency.

Altogether Ventura County handled about 4,000 domestic disturbance calls last year. Of those, 800 misdemeanor and 30 felony cases went to court.

The diversion program is designed for offenders in less serious cases, people who seem likely to benefit more from counseling than punishment.

“If you’re looking to punish someone, yeah, send them to jail,” said Staples of the Corrections Services Agency. “But going to jail isn’t going to help them change their behavior.”

Batterers need to learn to deal with anger and frustration without striking out, she said. But even after therapy some abusers return to violence.

“Unfortunately, there are those kind of cases,” she said. “I hate to say this, even setting standards and guidelines is no guarantee that the batterers won’t go back to their previous behavior.”