SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT BOARD MINUTES Friday, May 16, 2014 Board Members Alli Watt Allison Boyd Amy Fitch Angel Weant Bill Hildenbrand Carl Blake Erin Jemison Jeff Geist Jeff Jenks Jessica Curtis Jessica Meza John Odenheimer Kandy Moore Kim English Mary Baydarian Merve Davies Mimi Scheuermann Missy Gursky Nancy Jackson Pam Bricker Peggy Heil Richard Bednarski Tom Leversee

Absent Board Members Doug Stephens Staff Chris Lobanov-Rostovsky Lucy Klos Board Meeting Begins:

Visitors Alesha Arrington Amy Ferrin Cheryl Davis Christine Niemann Jason Guidry Jerry Frey Kelsey Di Pirro Mathia Antony Michael Hirschman Shefali Phillips Sterling Harris Taralyn Clark Dawn McBratni Jason Page Gary Reser Kim Kinne Laurie Knight Laurie Kepros Max Will

Visitors Alyssa Hetschel Bobbie Ponis Chris Renda Debbie Baty Jean Keele Jo Stack Linda Martin Maureen O’Brien Pat Martin Shelby Olander Tara Nailon Jan Hunsaker Carolyn Turner Cameron Guthrie Lu Walker Ann Harris Ann Greenwood Steve Easterday-McPadden

Marcelo Kopcow Raechel Alderete 9:06 a.m.

INTRODUCTIONS

1

Jesse Hansen

FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: Discuss the current concern over the number of providers currently in the field, and the future outlook. ANNOUNCEMENTS: •

•

• • • • •

•

• •

The Appeal for JB was postponed at her request, and will be heard in June. The Board’s Attorney General representative will be at the meeting for the appeal, if the Board needs legal counsel. If an Executive Session is needed, the Attorney General representative will be available to discuss legal issues pertaining to the appeal. The Colorado Youth Project (CYP) is looking at a research practitioner grant, and would like to pursue it. The CYP grant will need a letter of support from the SOMB. The grant would not be awarded to the Division of Criminal Justice or the Board, only to the researchers working on this project. There was a general consensus to write the letter from the Board. Due to the residence restriction law that is being litigated in Englewood, other jurisdictions are starting to address this issue and setting up a process where an offender can appeal their residence restrictions or have them be waived. Carl Blake stated that last month the Board had approved Section 8 of the Juvenile Standards and Guidelines, and it was put out for public comment. No comments were received, and public comment closed today. Therefore, the Section is now considered finalized. Expense reports for the Board need to be brought to the June board meeting for the 2014 Fiscal Year end. There is a designated representative list for the Continuity of Care Committee being passed around, as there are still slots open for the meeting which will be held on May 20th, at 690 Kipling, 4th floor CBI Lab conference room. The SOMB Attorney General’s Office representative reviewed the complaint process for the Board and the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA). It has been determined that DORA’s investigation report cannot be released and used in the Board’s complaint process. A statutory fix is needed in regards to this. As a result, the Board will need to add membership to the Application Review Committee (ARC) to address DORA’s investigation report as the current ARC members cannot review this report while doing their complaint review. There would be no change in the bylaws or administrative process. Peggy Heil’s last meeting as a Board representative is today. Erin Jemison presented her with the time of service gift. The nomination application has been sent out for a new Board member to take Peggy’s position as a licensed mental health professional. Missy, Carl, Kandy, Allison, and Kim volunteered to review those applications. There has been concern that the Board meetings need to be held in a more respectful manner, and to keep them professional for both the Board and the audience. Therefore, it was requested that comments be made in a respectful manner during Board meetings. It was noted that Board members are always welcome to express comments about statements made by the audience members. However, during the rare occasions when audience comments are being time-limited, it was requested that Board members not comment after each public comment.

APPROVAL OF APRIL MINUTES: motion to approve Carl Blake; 2nd by Kim English. 17 Approve

0 Oppose

3 Abstain

2

Motion Carries

APPROVE AGENDA: There is a change to the agenda. The Need for More Qualified Treatment Providers will be presented at a later date. LEGISLATIVE REPORT (ACTION ITEM) – JESSE HANSEN • • • • • • •

It is recommended that there be continued Board discussion on the items, and to follow-up on those items and see how they are progressing. It was requested that the elderly population and housing issues be addressed as part of the report. Jessica Meza offered to help with this issue. The difficulty of retaining people in this field needs to be addressed. Sexting was mentioned in the last report, and needs to be addressed in the upcoming report. The young adult protocol needs to continue being addressed. The Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) assessment committee is still meeting, and there are numerous items being addressed. There may be some recommendations for legislative change. Address the issues of transient sex offenders and registration with local law enforcement, and suitable housing.

AGE OF CONSENT (PANEL DISCUSSION) – AMY FITCH, JESSICA MEZA, AND RAECHEL ALDERETE • • • • •

The prosecutors are responsible for charging when it comes to sexting issues. There are more cases where sexting photos have been forwarded to other individuals without the person’s consent. The age of consent varies from each state. Sometimes age does play a factor when looking at the statutes. Developmental as well as actual age should be considered. Consent is defined by the law. The need for an education positional paper on this area was suggested. It is suggested that a flowchart be developed so it would be easy to follow, and as a reference.

BREAK SVP ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE MODIFICATIONS TO THE HANDBOOK RELATED TO THE RELATIONSHIP CRITERIA AND WOMEN/DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES – SVP ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE • • • • • • • • •

The very last bullet seems to be confusing. The Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB) has no legal purview, so the language seems to be incomplete. This should be left for the courts and attorneys to decipher, and providers should not have to read and interpret cases. This document/instrument does not have all of the cases for review, so the language in the beginning is okay, but not the bullet points. It is felt that the SVP Committee needs victim representation. The majority of the Committee felt that some guidance was better than none. It should include the evaluator’s judgment, but the final decision will lie with the court and attorneys. The whole issue of relationship is not based in research. This is a stop gap issue, until the issue is resolved statutorily. Would like to have it say “it’s not statistically related”. The question was asked if there has been any change on the federal level. The answer was no. Currently, evaluators are using the assessment to a degree especially for women and the developmental disabled. Need to double check the language in the last bullet, and also add a comment about the victim. Would suggest that the SOMB take this back to the stakeholders and it be brought before the committee again. It was asked that the SOMB provide feedback to the committee, before the next board meeting.

3

•

Also suggested to have Kathy Gillespie of the Attorney General’s Office look at the case again, as bullet point four starts with “for example”.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE (PRESENTATION) – JANA LOCKE • • • • • •

The legislative session is now closed. The Governor now has 30 days to act upon the bills presented once the session has ended. Page 2 - House Bill 1044 has been signed and is now law. Page 3 - House Bill 1104 was not passed, and replaced by House Bill 1378 that was passed. Page 3 - House Bill 1148 was signed in early April. Page 7 - House Bill 1260 was passed. Page 7 - House Bill 1264 did not pass.

There were two new bills added: • •

House Bill 1273 - Creates a human trafficking counsel within the Division of Criminal Justice. Senate Bill 206 - This is a record sealing clean-up bill.

The Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS) is an executive branch agency and the Board would need to bring any legislative proposal through CDPS, which would then be taken to the Governor’s office in order to be brought before the Legislature. A legislative suggestion could be brought forward through other agencies, and not through the CDPS. Any member of the Legislature could take the SOMB report, and act upon it. It is more helpful to have a coalition behind the issues before taking them to the Legislature. It was asked if the Board would want to look at another committee to handle these issues. It was suggested by Chris LobanovRostovsky that the Board address this issue informally rather than through a Committee. LUNCH FAMILY ENGAGEMENT, EDUCATION, AND SUPPORT (PANEL DISCUSSION) Ann Greenwood, Colorado Department of Corrections; Tammy Schneiderman, Division of Youth Corrections; Susan Walker, CSOR and family member; Jen Duncan, Parole Officer; Roberta Ponis, family member; Maureen O’Brien, family member; Dr. Chris Renda, AFC, Clinical Researcher and family member; Pastor Steve Easterday-McPadden, family member; and Kim Kinne, Probation Officer. • • • • • • • •

The current system does not always embrace family members. Family members are not condoning the perpetrator’s behavior. More consistency of support is needed in the treatment process, family involvement, and communication. There is a huge gap for family members being able to obtain information. It is suggested to possibly have a mentor program of another family member who has gone through the process. It would be nice to know the differences between the juvenile and adult systems. Families are receiving information too late during the process. The information is needed earlier, and needs to be communicated up front. Where does the Board go from here: having a more trusting interaction; open collaborative discussions; know what the barriers and the needs are; deciding who could do what to help the process; continue to have discussion; realizing that Risk, Need, Responsivity (RNR) principles, and the Standards are not one size fits all, and have them be more individualized.

BREAK

4

STANDARDS COMPLIANCE REVIEW (ACTION ITEM) – ARC • • • • • • • • • • •

In regards to the treatment plan, what are the barriers and positives on family involvement? The Juvenile Standards are more focused and directed in regards to the treatment plan. It was asked, when someone is requested to submit a plan for cause, is there follow-up? It was noted that they would be monitored until compliance. What is the definition of “for cause”? It was explained that the ARC Committee gets formal complaints, but there are times people do not want to file a formal complaint which is when the “for cause” comes in to play. It was suggested to not put in the time limit. Discussion ensued that without a time limit though, a person could get chosen every year for review. Is there a way to put the program evaluation and this plan together? It would be nice to have all the policies and procedures in one document. Suggest that providers be given 60 days to gather their information. Have in the policy the decisions that the ARC are empowered to implement a plan once the review is completed. The DVOMB states they will be approved, go on a compliance action plan, or revoked. The Board needs to support ARC’s decision making. The SOMB should give direction to ARC on what would constitute providers being denied. Consider allowing a provider to make a response before handling the issue, especially if it is the same complaint. The SOMB Board is encouraged to provide suggestions to Carl Blake.

ARC VARIANCE REQUEST – RSA The variance is for a client under appeal. This request is coming from Parole for more mental health therapy. ARC is recommending approval for this variance. APPROVAL OF VARIANCE REQUEST: motion to approve Jessica Curtis; 2nd by Rick Bednarski. 17 Approve

0 Oppose

1 Abstain

Motion Carries

It was asked if the Board can receive the Variance request before the board meeting to review.

5

SOMB COMMITTEE REPORTS (ACTION ITEM) • • • • • • • •

Victim Advocacy Committee – looking at victim enhancement on Community Supervision and MultiDisciplinary Teams. ARC – is continuing to look at, and approve applications. They have also been partnering with Best Practices Committee on the competency based model for provider approval. DVSO – is continuing to provide more education and training to the sex offender professional community. There will be three workshops offered at the SOMB conference on domestic violence issues. They will also be involved in the Standard’s revision committee. Best Practices – has partnered with ARC as stated before. There were 165 providers who completed the survey that was sent out. Female Sex Offender – is currently reviewing articles for group discussion. Also looking at risk assessment development. Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) – CO COSA is led by Diana Lawyer-Brook who is implementing COSA in Colorado. Sex Offender Registration Workgroup – has been meeting with law enforcement on how the sex offender registration process is going. School Reference Guide – is working on the final draft of the revised guide.

Meeting adjourns: 2:49pm

6

7

8