Santo Domingo Tribe Applying Circles of Support and Accountability

The Circles of Support and Accountability initiative emerged in Canada in the 1990s as a community-based, restorative justice movement that focuses on the need to engage the community in the reintegration process. In FY 2012, the SMART Office selected two project sites, Durham, NC and Multnomah County, OR, and a training and technical assistance provider to support its Promoting Evidence Integration in Sex Offender Management: Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) program. COSA projects are now underway or in progress in California, Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Vermont.

The Santo Domingo Tribes (SDT) will re-establish a spiritual, physical, emotional, and intellectual balance that benefits sex offenders, victims and family members. SDT will build Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) knowledge through community education, training and activities. Also, the Tribe will work collaboratively with the SMART Office and the COSA training and technical assistance provider to establish and maintain a COSA program. Further, SDT will implement a monitoring and evaluation plan to collect and analyze information. The COSA program will be managed by the Tribal Programs Legal Liaison, Peggy L. Bird, and the Santo Domingo Tribe Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) Coordinator. ca/ncf