Massachusetts

Technical Assistance:

Massachusetts Coalition for Sex Offender Management, Clinton, Massachusetts (March 2004): CSOM staff facilitated a full day forum on sex offender management and child sexual assault prevention for policy makers and practitioners across the state representing criminal justice, victim advocacy, public health, treatment, and child protective services agencies.

Training:

Conducted a one-day training on the Comprehensive Approach to Sex Offender Management for the State of Massachusetts (FY04 OJP Grant Site) in December 2006 (80 participants).

Resource Site:

In Massachusetts, a group including the Parole Board, the Department of Correction, the Office of the Commissioner of Probation, and the Sex Offender Registry Board are working together to create a continuum of treatment and supervision for sex offenders throughout the criminal justice system. A single treatment provider is providing treatment within the institutions and training to parole officers who manage sex offenders. Researchers have been added to the institutional treatment staff to offer additional opportunities for program evaluation and the development of refined risk assessment instruments. The Parole Board has implemented an Intensive Parole Supervision Unit using a containment approach that combines treatment, supervision, and use of the polygraph.

OJP Grant Sites:

2004: There are approximately 18,000 (active and inactive) sex offenders across the 351 cities and towns of Massachusetts. The City of Boston has a disproportionately high concentration of sex offenders with 1,500 active offenders. Of all sex offenders in Boston, approximately 75 percent are released without any supervision in the community. Additionally, there are currently 137 juvenile sex offenders in the custody of the Department of Youth Services (DYS). The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety (EOPS) and its partners will create a strategy to effectively manage sex offenders throughout the Commonwealth. To do this, EOPS will examine the current system in a rural area as well as an urban area. Although the rural area has not been identified yet, Boston has agreed to partner with EOPS to help assess the management of sex offenders in an urban area. The grant funding will be used to: 1) define model communities: 2) create a snapshot of current services, service needs and gaps; 3) document information sharing, information needs and gaps; 4) define and document model process for urban and rural service delivery; and 5) implement a strategy statewide that reflects the strategies of the identified model communities.

2001: The State of Massachusetts was awarded an implementation/enhancement grant by the Office of Justice Programs that provided them with the resources necessary to hire victim advocates in two areas: the Dudley District Court, a rural area bordering Connecticut; and the Framingham Parole Office, a substantial manufacturing area in the state. Victim advocates serve as active members of the sex offender management team, providing support to victims of sexual assault and input to the probation and parole officers working to manage sex offenders in the community. This initiative was overseen by the Massachusetts Coalition for Sex Offender Management, a collaborative, multidisciplinary group of criminal justice system practitioners, victim advocates, and offender treatment providers. This project worked to encourage victim advocacy involvement in the management of sex offenders, increase the state's ability to prevent additional victimization, and maintain the collaborative working relationship among the agencies responsible for managing sex offenders in the community.