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 Team Training
Based on emerging practices in jurisdictions around the nation, this training promotes a multi-disciplinary, collaborative approach to sex offender supervision. As such, CSOM recommends that teams of trainers present the material, both in order to provide expertise and insight into the different fields involved in the work, and to model the collaborative approach that is highlighted herein. Teams should include, at a minimum, a probation/parole representative, a victim advocate, a treatment provider, and, if there is specific interest or if the jurisdiction currently uses the tool, a polygraph examiner.
The presence of a victim advocate or a treatment provider who is skilled at working with victims is a particularly important aspect of your training team. In any training on this topic, you should be prepared for the fact that there may well be survivors of sexual abuse among the participants. Because the curriculum deals openly with the incidence of sexual assault and its impact upon victims, survivor participants may have a strong reaction—a flashback to previous abuse, for instance—that may require the assistance of someone experienced in working with victims. It is best to acknowledge at the outset of any training that there probably are survivors of sexual assault among the participants and that any participant should feel free to excuse himself or herself from the discussion at any time, to speak about their own experiences, or to request assistance or support from a faculty member. It is particularly important to be prepared for these possibilities and to be prepared to validate, support, and assist the survivors of sexual assault in the context of the training. It is also important to identify other resources such as a sexual assault crisis service or victim advocacy organization to whom participants can be referred if they need follow-up assistance.
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