NCJ Number
193311
Journal
Topics in Community Corrections Dated: 2001 Pages: 34-36
Date Published
2001
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes the development of a collaborative plan for managing sex offenders in San Diego County, California.
Abstract
A grant was obtained from the Violence Against Women Office of the U.S. Department of Justice. This grant, administered by the Center for Sex Offender Management (CSOM), gave jurisdictions the opportunity to form community collaboratives that would focus on local issues related to sex offender management and identify new directions for future community responses. Because the grant was awarded to the Probation Department, the project director was that department's representative. The project staff included a group facilitator, who led the collaborative process and wrote the final report. Each of six committees was chaired by representatives from the following groups: probation and parole, district attorney and public defender, Center for Community Solutions, the Relationship Training Institute, county sheriff and police, and the San Diego Association of Governments. Committees focused on community supervision, court protocol, victim advocacy, assessment and treatment, notification and registration, and data collection. These committees developed final implementation plans for future program development. CSOM provided technical assistance throughout the development process. Advice based on lessons learned is as follows: obtain front-end commitments from all the participants; find individuals who are genuinely interested in the work; allow for individual differences and value varying perspectives; and trust the process.