California

Technical Assistance:

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Adult Parole Operations (February 2007): CSOM staff participated in a two-day retreat with the CASOM grantee site Task Force, followed by a one-day strategic planning session with the Executive Committee of the Task Force, with representation from parole, institutional corrections, community corrections, treatment, mental health, judiciary, prosecution, defense, law enforcement, victim advocacy, research, and the sex offender registry, regarding their findings from the Comprehensive Assessment Protocol (CAP).

Ventura County, California (October 2006): CSOM staff conducted a workshop with key stakeholders in Ventura County, discussing an overview of the comprehensive approach, best practices, priority issues for the group, and a plan of action.

San Diego Sex Offender Management Council (July 2006): CSOM provided a staff member to support a retreat for members of the San Diego Sex Offender Management Council.

Solano County, California Probation Department (February 2004): CSOM provided support to enable a four-person multidisciplinary team to attend the CSOM training at the 2004 Winter APPA Training Institute.

Orange County, California (January 2003): CSOM provided support to enable two sex offender supervision deputies to attend the CSOM training at the 2003 Winter APPA Training Institute.

San Diego County, California (January 2003): CSOM provided support to enable two policy makers to attend the CSOM training at the 2003 Winter APPA Training Institute.

Contra Costa County, California (August 2002): CSOM provided support to enable a five-person multidisciplinary team to attend the CSOM training at the 2002 Summer APPA Training Institute.

Santa Barbara, California Department of Probation (May 2001): Conducted a site visit to determine technical assistance and training needs.

Santa Barbara, California (January 2001): CSOM provided support to enable four probation and parole staff and one treatment provider to attend the CSOM training at the 2001 Winter APPA Training Institute.

Forensic Services/CONREP Operations, California Department of Mental Health (April 2000): Provided guidance on the development of standards for effective outpatient programming for sexually violent predators and mental health patients and supported participation in a CSOM-sponsored training event in California.

Training:

San Francisco Sex Offender Management Alliance (February 2007): One CSOM staff member delivered a training for the San Francisco Sex Offender Management Alliance on what is known about adult sex offenders, specialized assessment, interviewing techniques, treatment approaches, supervision strategies, and recidivism to probation officers, treatment providers, evaluators, US Marshalls, and district attorneys in San Francisco, California (90 participants).

Conducted a training for the California AOC/Statewide Judicial Branch Conference on the role of judges in the comprehensive approach to sex offender management, September 2005 (18 participants).

Conducted a training for the San Diego Sex Offender Management Council on the comprehensive approach to sex offender management in San Diego, California, September 2005 (30 participants).

Provided a consultant to give a presentation and provide factual information to the Public Safety Committee of the California State Assembly in Sacramento, California, February 2005 (50 participants).

Delivered a six-hour training session on community and public education at the California Coalition on Sexual Offending's Annual Conference to treatment providers, parole officers, state government, and legislative officials in San Francisco, California, May 2004 (60 participants).

Provided a consultant to participate as faculty in a one-day multidisciplinary training targeted to local judges and prosecutors in Grass Valley, California, November 2003 (100 participants).

Conducted a strategic planning session following a two-day CSOM training on sex offender management with the Contra Costa County Sex Offender Management Group, including probation, parole, prosecution, victim advocacy, law enforcement, and treatment providers, December 2002 (30 participants).

Convened a multidisciplinary training session on the treatment and supervision of sex offenders in the community for a multidisciplinary audience of law enforcement, treatment, probation, parole, judiciary, prosecution, public defense, and victim advocacy representatives in Contra Costa County, California, December 2002 (70 participants).

Provided a consultant to conduct training on the containment approach to managing sex offenders at the request of the California Coalition on Sexual Offending, May 2001 (60 participants).

Conducted a regional training on the effective management of adult and juvenile sex offenders in the community to a Southern California audience of probation and parole representatives and other stakeholders, April 2000 (300 participants).

Provided a consultant to conduct an intensive three-day training for specialized probation and parole, treatment providers, case workers, and victim advocates, December 1998 (20 participants).

Resource Site:

Orange County developed an intensive sex offender unit whose mission is to enhance public safety, provide victim protection, and promote victim reparation through a collaborative approach to managing sex offenders in the community. Orange County has also developed guidelines for sex offender treatment providers, which address treatment modality, content, and duration. The approach holds as its chief values the prevention of victimization, the protection and recovery of victims, and the well-being of the community, including the offender.

OJP Grant Sites:

2006: Orange County has just formed a Juvenile Sex Offender Management team (JSOM) to develop a coordinated system-wide approach to manage juvenile sex offenders and assist victims. The population targeted in this grant is juvenile sex offenders and their victims. The juvenile probationers' average age at the time of the offense is 14.2 years. Almost all of their victims are under age 18, with 18% being under six years old. In order to accomplish the project goals, the team will meet monthly to analyze the current system practices, acknowledge the system strengths and gaps, and assist team members in prioritizing strategies for implementation. Subcommittees will be formed to address specific topic areas as appropriate, such as “Assessment and Treatment” with the appropriate stakeholder chairing the subcommittee.

2005: The direct service population to be served in this grant is all juvenile and adult offenders sentenced to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR). The DCR will use funds to develop a statewide, comprehensive sex offender strategic plan and policy that will provide a blueprint for the management, supervision and treatment of all sex offenders committed to the DCR. Currently in California, the state juvenile and adult institutions and parole departments act independently, and with little standardization. This new model will include nationwide best practices, standards and trends in the treatment, supervision and management of sex offenders. A collaborative team comprising of representatives from the courts, probation, corrections, mental health, victims organizations and other professional associations will be involved in the development of this strategic plan.

2004: Within the 49 square mile San Francisco city limit, there are 984 registered sex offenders. The San Francisco grant team aims to improve its knowledge about this population, and to develop strategies to better identify, track and monitor, and supervise this population once they have been released into the community with the underlying goal of increasing public safety and preventing future victimization. In order to achieve this overall goal, the San Francisco grant team will undergo a two phase process as part of the sex offender management project. During phase I, the grant team will: 1) finalize a multidisciplinary policy team; 2) establish processes for information collection and analysis; and 3) collect information and data for a cross-system analysis related to their sex offender management strategy. Phase II will involve: 1) implementing proposed strategies approved by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the grantee's policy team; 2) utilizing BJA's technical assistance resources; and 3) designing and executing a monitoring and evaluation plan based on the implementation plan.

2001: Fresno County, California is located in central California. The county covers 6,018 square miles and had a total population of almost 800,000 in 2001. The county used their grant funds to engage in a strategic planning process regarding the effective management of both adult and juvenile sex offenders in the community. The team evaluated their approach to sex offender management; assessed how resources may be reallocated to more effectively manage the sex offenders in Fresno County; and explored sex offender specific supervision and treatment approaches.

2001: San Diego County is the second largest and second most populated county in California, comprised of 4,280 square miles, an area approximately the size of the state of Connecticut. The county's population in 2001 was 2,943,001. In 2001, there were 5,000 sex offenders registered and 1,350 sex offenders under probation and parole supervision in the county. Through a prior planning grant from the Office of Justice Programs, San Diego County identified several areas to enhance their sex offender management practices. The areas in which the county concentrated their efforts were: developing an enhanced and integrated supervision model; creating standards for sex offender treatment and polygraph testing; implementing the use of sex offender specific risk assessment tools; improving communication between the agencies working to manage sex offenders in the community; and enhancing community-based treatment options for adult and juvenile sex offenders.

2001: San Luis Obispo County, California is a largely rural and agricultural area that lies halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The county formerly received a planning grant from the Office of Justice Programs to develop a strategic plan to manage sex offenders in the community. As a result of that planning process, the county identified four primary areas in which new approaches were warranted. They utilized an implementation/enhancement grant to address these areas of need, which included: increasing sex offender supervision resources; the use of an assessment tool to better determine the risk levels that offenders pose to the community; the introduction of the use of the polygraph as a supervision and treatment tool; and creation of a database that allows for increased communication between agencies responsible for the management of sex offenders in San Luis Obispo County.

1999: San Diego County, the fourth largest county in the United States, covers 4,280 square miles and in 1999 had a population of approximately 2,794,800. The county utilized a planning grant to coordinate efforts of local agencies in the management of juvenile and adult sex offenders. Through this grant, community members were brought together to participate on committees to examine practices around sex offender management and identify gaps in services, communication, and information sharing. Each committee focused on a specific topic, including registration and notification, community supervision, assessment and treatment, victim advocacy, data collection and research, and court protocols. The committees made recommendations that directed county efforts to provide a coordinated, comprehensive continuum to the management of sex offenders.

1999: San Luis Obispo County is a largely rural area on the California coast. In May 1999, the county Probation Department supervised 135 sex offenders and the Parole Unit supervised 81 sex offenders. There were 619 registered sex offenders living in the county. A planning grant was used to bring together local agencies to form a coalition to develop a coordinated, countywide approach to sex offender management. To this end, the Probation and Parole Departments and the Sheriff's Office worked together to supervise sex offenders on probation and parole, monitor and track registered sex offenders, and develop a prevention program for elementary school students. The coalition also worked to develop a risk assessment tool, incorporate the use of the polygraph into treatment plans for sex offenders on probation, and develop a database for law enforcement agencies to share information on convicted sex offenders residing in the county.