FY2000 Comprehensive Approaches to Sex Offender Management Grants

Planning Grants

Alabama, Mobile County

The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, through its Mobile County Office, sought to develop a more effective system to manage adult sex offenders on both the local and statewide level. Mobile County is a predominantly urban county located in the far southwest corner of the state, with a 2000 population of approximately 450,000. The county used their planning grant to disseminate their experiences to other agency offices throughout the state. The grantee team assisted the county and state in strategic planning to fill the gaps in the service delivery system and create a continuum of treatment and supervision for sex offenders. The team worked to add multiple components to the management system, including polygraph testing as a part of supervision and psychological and psychosocial testing as part of the pre-sentence investigation process. It also collected and analyzed statistical data on incarcerated sex offenders, and shared information about the project with Alabama Circuit Courts.

In 2000, Illinois had a population of approximately 11,931,700. There were over 3,000 sex offenders on probation and approximately 4,500 individuals serving sentences for sex offenses in Illinois State prisons. With their planning grant, the Office of the Illinois Attorney General examined sex offender management practices employed by the state and developed a comprehensive plan for a more streamlined and systematic approach. The Office of the Illinois Attorney General utilized this grant to support the efforts of the Illinois Sex Offender Management Board, which focuses on developing statewide supervision and treatment standards, and providing training on these standards for treatment providers, supervision agents, judges, and attorneys.

Montana, Fort Peck Reservation

The Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana had a population of 12,000 in 2000, including enrolled and non-enrolled members. The reservation spans more than two million acres. At the time of this grant the Tribal Probation Department supervised 28 registered sex offenders, in addition to seven sex offenders supervised by Federal Probation. The Fort Peck Tribes identified the need to fill gaps in the supervision and treatment of adult sex offenders, as well as provide education to the community regarding sexual assault and sex offender management. The primary focus of this planning grant was to support the collection and analysis of data, as well as ensure more consistent and thorough registration and notification practices.

The Santa Fe Rape Crisis Center used a planning grant to establish a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team to examine northern New Mexico's practices related to juvenile sex offender management. Northern New Mexico encompasses Santa Fe County and the cities of Los Alamos, Espanola, and Taos, and had a population of approximately 158,000 in 2000. At the time of this grant New Mexico had the second highest rate of reported rapes in the nation, and the fewest number of treatment programs for juvenile sex offenders. Through the grant, the center formalized a working relationship among criminal justice professionals, treatment providers, and victim advocates. The goal was to gain a better understanding of current sex offender management practices in the region and develop a plan to enhance these practices.

Rennselaer County is largely rural, with a 2000 population of 155,000. Its largest subdivision is the City of Troy ; the surrounding area is known as the Capital District. Approximately 700 sex offenders resided in the Capital District. Rennselaer County, in conjunction with the New York State Alliance of Sex Offender Service Providers, initiated this project to improve the management, treatment, and supervision of sex offenders. This planning grant created a Capital District Center for Sex Offender Management that assists in the investigation and prosecution of sex offenses and ensures adequate community supervision and treatment for convicted/adjudicated offenders.

St. Lawrence County is located in northern New York along the Canadian border and represents the largest rural county in the state with a land area of 2,685 miles. In 2000, it had a population of approximately 114,000. The county Probation Department used a planning grant to create a sex offender management team. An existing criminal justice policy group that has multidisciplinary representation served as the foundation of this new team. Through the grant, staff was hired to support the development of a plan for improved criminal justice system coordination, from the first contact with a sexual assault victim and/or sex offender through post-adjudication.

New York, St. Regis Mohawk Tribe

The St. Regis Mohawk Nation is located in northern New York (Franklin County). In 2000, the Nation had a population of approximately 9,200. The tribe utilized a planning grant to help track sex offenders for supervision purposes, develop a plan for responding to these offenders and their victims, and establish rapport among grantee team members and their agencies, and with neighboring jurisdictions.

In 2000, the State of Oklahoma had a population of approximately 3,314,200. Through a planning grant, the state Department of Corrections examined and restructured its system of managing sex offenders. The department's goals were to create more accountable treatment programs, standardize supervision practices, and raise public awareness about sex offender management. At the time of this grant, approximately 1,653 sex offenders are under community management in the state and there were no standards in place for their management. The grantee team examined other jurisdictions that have implemented successful approaches and worked to increase public understanding of sex offender management practices. The team also held local and statewide meetings to share information gleaned from national trainings, and conducted focus groups around the state to explore specific issues related to sex offender management.

Implementation/Enhancement Grants

The Minnesota Department of Corrections utilized an implementation/enhancement grant to provide expanded supervision and treatment resources for adult and juvenile sex offenders in a nine-county region in northwestern Minnesota. This region spans 13,000 square miles and had a 2000 population of approximately 129,000. As of mid-2000, there were 155 adult and 44 juvenile sex offenders under correctional supervision. Funds from the grant were used to hire a grant coordinator/project researcher, purchase additional treatment and polygraph services, support transportation costs for project staff to travel across counties, and purchase electronic equipment to make off-site offender contact possible.

The Fort Belknap Indian Reservation is located in north central Montana. In 2000, it had an enrolled membership of 5,274, with approximately 3,800 members living on or near the reservation. About 45 percent of this community's members live below the poverty level (as compared to 11 percent nationally and 12 percent for the state of Montana ). The tribe had a Rape Crisis Team that provides services to victims, but no sex offender management practices were in place prior to this grant. Funds from an implementation/enhancement grant were used to hire a tribal prosecutor to register sex offenders, conduct community notification, educate the community about sexual assault, establish a crisis hotline for victims, provide sex offender treatment services, and conduct research on the sex offender population.

Texas

In 2000, the state of Texas, with a population of approximately 19,274,300, had jurisdiction over 15 percent of sex offenders estimated to be under correctional supervision in the United States. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice created a Sex Offender Multidisciplinary Team to implement a work plan to ensure continuity of supervision and treatment for sex offenders. Funds from an implementation/enhancement grant were used to initiate the implementation of statewide treatment and community supervision standards, refine the transition of sex offenders from institution to community, and educate key stakeholders about effective sex offender management practices (including the judiciary, prosecutors, treatment providers, victim advocates, and the community).

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, in collaboration with the state Department of Juvenile Justice, worked to pilot and evaluate a comprehensive, community-based "best practices" model in Norfolk to improve services to juvenile sex offenders. They also supported its replication in five other jurisdictions across the state. In 2000, the city of Norfolk, located in the southeastern part of the state, had a population of 225,000. It had 26 juvenile sex offenders in residential placement, 21 in state placement, and 55 under community supervision. Funds from an implementation/enhancement grant were used to support one specialized supervision officer and two part-time family intervention/mentor specialists, obtain expert consultation in assessment, clinical intervention protocols, and training for service providers, and conduct research and evaluation. The grantee team subsequently disseminated information about the "best practices" model to five jurisdictions around the state.