Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2012, $500,000)
The Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) model is a supervision strategy involving the use of community volunteers to provide support to an individual sex offender. COSA assists offenders with garnering community resources, while holding them accountable to their self-monitoring plan, typically following completion of legal supervision. The Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) Training and Technical Assistance Program focuses on providing training and technical assistance to jurisdictions interested in developing and implementing COSA programs. The recipient of this award will provide targeted training and technical assistance to project sites awarded grants under the FY 2012 Promoting Evidence Integration in Sex Offender Management: Circles of Support and Accountability as well as respond to ad hoc requests for training and technical assistance on the COSA model.
The COSA Training and Technical Assistance Program will support COSA project sites funded under the Promoting Evidence Integration in Sex Offender Management: Circles of Support and Accountability Grant Program by providing training and technical assistance to two selected jurisdictions that wish to develop COSA programs in conjunction with community corrections programs, and to provide ad hoc training and technical assistance to community volunteer groups, faith-based organizations or others seeking to develop COSA programs.
The Counseling and Psychotherapy Center Inc. of Greater Boston will plan and deliver training and technical assistance to the County of Durham and the Oregon Department of Corrections award recipients under the COSA Project Sites Grant Program, and develop and carry out training and technical assistance in response to ad hoc requests from these jurisdictions and sex offender management practitioners interested in the COSA model. FY 12 COSA grantee technical assistance needs may vary depending on these jurisdictions' sex offender supervision practices, whether the jurisdictions have implemented some form of COSA program or not, and if the jurisdictions have experience with using volunteers in sex offender management. As a result, the applicants should be able to demonstrate: 1) expertise in sex offender management practices, 2) experience in developing and implementing the COSA model, 3) proficiency in developing and providing technical assistance in sex offender management, 4) ability to complete program assessments, 5) knowledge of recruiting, training and managing volunteers, and 6) experience in educating the public about sex offenders and sexual violence, including community notification schemes, public education campaigns, and victim support programs.
The goal of the Counseling and Psychotherapy Center Inc. of Greater Boston is to contribute to the local grantee's success in building a COSA project in
collaboration with their correctional and community partners, resulting in 2 project sites that are responsive to local needs. To do this, the Center plans to: (1) assist and engage local communities and the criminal justice sector in their area; (2) develop performance indicator reporting; (3) establish a volunteer program by assessing existing or helping to develop a new volunteer recruitment, training, screening, supervision, appreciation efforts, and record keeping protocols; (4) develop core member referral or application and selection protocol; (5) provide ongoing onsite training and technical assistance as required, and produce a professional quality Training and Technical Assistance Guide; and (6) undertake a process evaluation for each of the three sites individually.
ca/ncf