A plan to improve South Carolina's approach to treating sex offenders is causing a stir among some counselors who fear the effort will undercut their work and hurt them financially.

At issue is an agreement signed in January between the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services and the Needham, Mass.-based Counseling & Psychotherapy Center. The pact calls for them to work together to establish a more cohesive and consistent system for treating some 1,300 sex offenders on probation or parole in South Carolina.

State officials say the arrangement will improve efforts to make sure all offenders are getting adequate care and supervision. The center operates specialized sex-offender management and treatment programs in 35 locations across the country, according to the company's Web site.

But some counselors who work with sex offenders are concerned that the state is ceding too much control to an out-of-state company that wants to profit at their expense.

Concerns blossomed after the state notified counselors that all new referrals to treat offenders would go through CPC. The counseling center then sent out a letter in February announcing that it was developing a statewide network of treatment providers. These providers would have to undergo new training, submit to regular supervision by CPC and hand over up to half of their earnings from group therapy sessions.

That rankled longtime providers such as William Burke, a licensed professional counselor from Summerville who assesses and treats sex offenders. He said one provider compared CPC's approach to "a Mafia shakedown."

Burke, who has a doctorate and 20 years experience in the field, said the arrangement would have forced him to pay CPC to follow methods that he considers outdated. What's more, he would have to telephone another state to seek approval for his treatment plans from someone with less training than he has, he said.

Probation officials said Burke and other counselors have nothing to fear. Despite the impression left by CPC's letter, the state has no plans to require counselors to join CPC's network or share their earnings. State officials also insisted that they plan to continue making referrals to counselors who don't join with CPC.

"That's the way it has been and that's the way it will continue to be," said Pete O'Boyle, a probation spokesman.

CPC officials did not return a call to their headquarters Friday seeking comment. CPC was expected to begin accepting referrals by Feb. 1 but probation officials said they know of no treatment providers who have signed on with the company.

Scott Norton, the probation department's director of field programs, said the state's intent was simply to improve and expand its ability to supervise and treat offenders.

Few standards are in place to govern treatment practices, and some rural areas have few, if any, resources to oversee offenders with deviant desires. Probation officials have identified only 33 counselors throughout the state interested in working with sex offenders.

Some studies suggest that without treatment, at least half of all offenders will go on to commit new sex crimes. Studies also suggest that the recidivism rate drops dramatically when offenders receive treatment that helps control their desires and reduce their sex drive.

Joe Holt, clinical director of the Southeastern Family Institute in North Augusta, is pushing the idea of establishing a South Carolina-based network of providers who could monitor how sex-offender treatment is being administered and help train counselors just entering the field.

Rather than fork over a percentage of their earnings, providers would pay only for whatever specific training or supervision they needed, he said.

Norton said the state is always open to suggestions for improving the treatment system. "Our whole goal is public safety," he said. "We don't want any new victims by these offenders while they are under our supervision."

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com