Meet a New SOMB Member!
Christina Ortiz-Marquez, M.A., LPC
Hello! I am very excited about the opportunity to serve on the SOMB as the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) Representative! Sexual Assault prevention and intervention have been my passion for many years. I have been in the Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health field since 2001. I hold a Bachelor of Science Degrees in Criminology and Sociology with a minor in Psychology. When I completed my undergraduate studies I was given the amazing opportunity to serve as Executive Director of Pueblo Rape Crisis Services (PRCS). In this role, I helped to develop a coordinated response to sexual assault and worked closely with law enforcement and forensic medical providers to facilitate Pueblo’s Sexual Assault Response Team. During this time, I also served as the interim director of the Pueblo Child Advocacy Center.
After earning a Master of Arts degree in Community Counseling from Adam’s State College, I left PRCS and accepted a position with the CDOC Sex Offender Treatment and Monitoring Program (SOTMP) in 2007. I have worked as an SOTMP therapist, SOTMP quality management coordinator, SOTMP clinical trainer, SOTMP Intensive Treatment Community Supervisor and in November, 2019, I became the SOTMP Administrator. I look forward to working on the SOMB and with all of the amazing professionals and stakeholders in our shared goals toward community safety, and effective sexual offense specific treatment and evaluation.
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Practice Corner x2!
Supervisor Background Check Process
As of February 2015, the SOMB updated the background check process for individuals wishing to become Approved Supervisors for clients under supervision and in treatment. This included modifying the process for the Colorado State Background Check and changing the requirement for the Federal Background Checks (FBI) prior to approval.
State background checks can be completed online at
https://www.cbirecordscheck.com. The cost is $6.85 and potential Approved Supervisors are able to provide it to the client's treatment provider with whom they are working. Per Appendix P of the Standards, due to the length of time required to complete an FBI Background check, Approved Supervisor status can be granted with the completed CBI Report, as long as the FBI report is pending.
The Federal background requires fingerprints in order to complete the process. Since many local law enforcement agencies have moved to “ink-less” fingerprinting, they can no longer complete fingerprint cards for the public.
It is recommended you go to FBI.gov and follow the instructions for printing the FD-258 form. Once the potential Approved Supervisor has printed the form, the fingerprinting can be completed by one of the following private vendors:
1)
Identogo
2)
Colorado Fingerprinting.
Once fingerprinting is completed, the form can be sent to the FBI and the records can be sent directly to the treatment provider with whom the client is working. The vendor should not be sending the fingerprints in or taking the card from the potential Approved Supervisor. No code is needed to obtain fingerprints for this background check.
Click here for more detailed instructions on our website
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Protective Factors Minimize the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences that Can Lead to Future Adolescent Interpersonal Violence
Recent research has indicated that having a history of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can have a significant impact, and lead to multiple negative outcomes including various forms of interpersonal violence (domestic violence and sex offenses). As a result, practitioners with adolescents have begun to incorporate trauma-informed care into the work they do. A recent article by David and colleagues (2019) suggests that the presence of protective factors during middle school (e.g., empathy, social support, parental monitoring, school belonging, and academic achievement) can decrease the likelihood that experiencing ACEs can lead to teen dating violence in high school.
Protective factors have become an area of focus for practitioners in attempting to prevent and/or reduce the likelihood of occurrence or recurrence for interpersonal violence. This article may be helpful in determining where public health and clinical intervention focus can occur. Protective factors can be developed through treatment and have tangible benefits for the youth, potential victims, and the community at large.
For more information, see David, J.P., Ports, K.A., Basile, K.C., Espelage, D.L., & David-Ferdon, C.F. (2019). Understanding the Buffering Effects of Protective Factors on the Relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Teen Dating Violence Perpetration. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48:23432359.
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SOMB Open Positions
The Colorado Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB) is made up of 25 volunteer members representing various disciplines and agencies per 16-11.7-103 C.R.S. Would you like to be involved in the work of the SOMB? We are currently looking for two individuals who would be interested in joining the SOMB. The first open SOMB position is a County Director of Human/Social Services representative, and the second open SOMB position is an urban County Commissioner or member of the governing council for a jurisdiction that is a contiguous city and county representative. If you would like to learn more about this unique and exciting opportunity to be part of statewide policy development for individuals convicted or adjudicated for a sexual offense, please feel free to contact Chris Lobanov-Rostovsky at
chris.lobanov-rostovsky@state.co.us
or 303-239-4447 for more information.
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Research Corner
At the end of January, the SOMB once again published its annual legislative report. This year’s report covered a variety of topics including, but not limited to, the research process of the Board, a review of seminal meta-analysis on treatment efficacy, and a future roadmap for the Board’s work. The Staff has hard copies printed and available for any interested in the report. Additionally, the report can be accessed online by clicking
here
.
Any questions on the content and topics included in the report can be directed to Elliot Moen via
email
or Chris Lobanov-Rostovsky
here
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Policy Update
SOLICITATION FOR PUBLIC COMMENT:
On April 17, 2020, the Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB) approved the following revisions to the Standards and Guidelines for the Assessment, Evaluation, Treatment and Behavioral Monitoring of Adult Sex Offenders, the Assessment, Treatment and Supervision of Juveniles Who Have Committed Sexual Offenses and Administrative Policies:
Revision to Section 4 (Adult & Juvenile)
- Language added discussing administrative and third-party investigations as well as demonstrating compliance with the Standards and attesting to the commitment to comply with these Standards.
- Revisions to the training requirement of 40 hours of training, which includes the SOMB Introductory or Booster training.
- Revisions to the third-party investigation regarding reference checks being completed, and the request for additional references or further background investigation.
- 4.800 revisions with a Period of Compliance, and adding a Grace Period for Renewal along with an Eligibility for Future Renewal section.
- Revisions to the Not Currently Practicing status and moving from active status to an administrative inactive status.
Revision to the Administrative Policies (Adult & Juvenile)
- Added Period of Compliance, Grace Period for Renewal, and Eligibility for Future Renewal sections.
- Added language to explain the complaint process, Standards Compliance Reviews, and the Variance process.
The Board is now seeking your input on these revised sections of the Standards. All public comments are due on May 6, 2020 and will be provided to the SOMB on May 15, 2020. (Please note, when public comment is presented to the SOMB, your identifying information is not included.) On May 15, 2020, the SOMB will review your comments to determine if these comments need to be incorporated into additional Standards changes prior to ratification and publication.
To view the proposed change to the Standards and Administrative Policies,
Click here
.
To submit public comment,
Click here
.
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Division of Criminal Justice Announces Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding (CESF)
DEADLINE: MAY 11, 2020
The Division of Criminal Justice Office of Adult and Juvenile Justice Assistance (DCJ OAJJA) has received approximately $6.6 million in federal funding to support both state and local governments/agencies via a broad range of criminal justice and law enforcement activities to prevent, prepare and respond to the coronavirus.
Funding is available for State and Local Units of Government, such as Law Enforcement Agencies, Jails, Prisons, Detention Facilities, and other local organizations. We will also accept limited grant applications from non-profit organizations representing statewide associations of local law enforcement. Non-profit organizations must demonstrate how the grant will address statewide priorities.
The majority of the CESF will be made available to local units of governments and other eligible local agencies through a competitive Request for Application process developed by the DCJ. Due to the emergent nature of this funding, grant applications have been simplified and the funding process will be expedited. Funding is available retroactive to January 20, 2020, and will be available for a period of up to two years.
Click here for more detail.
- Priority Funding AreasNon-congregate housing for in-custody releases with no housing plan
- Protections for Incarcerated people and staff working in those areas
- Communication and community engagement tools to improve communication between law enforcement and community
- Systems to track and support adults and/or juveniles released or diverted from
- incarceration
Other Allowable Items
To support both state and local governments/agencies via a broad range of criminal justice and law enforcement activities to prevent, prepare and respond to the coronavirus.
- Overtime, hiring personnel, training
- Equipment and supplies
- Travel expenses related to the distribution of COVID related resources
- Addressing the medical needs of inmates in local, jails, and detention centers
- Addressing transitional housing needs for the criminal justice and juvenile justice population
- Any other COVID-19 related expense.
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Training Update
The 2020 Annual Domestic Violence and Sex Offender Management Conference originally planed for July 13-17, 2020 in Breckenridge, Colorado has been cancelled. However, the SOMB staff is working diligently to offer additional educational opportunities online for our approved treatment providers, evaluators, polygraph examiners, and all other stakeholders. Please stay tuned to our email communications for future announcements.
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FREE GIFR Membership
Limited time offer: May 31, 2020
Due to social distancing and shelter in place orders, the National Adolescent Perpetration Network (NAPN) have postponed this year's NAPN/OASOTN joint conference. In effort to support NAPN members, NAPN in collaboration with GIFR (Global Institute of Forensic Research) has arranged access for you to an online FREE GIFR membership until May 31st, 2020. This includes access to over 400 hours of online learning for CE credits.
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