Domestic Violence Offender Management Board Newsletter! Quarterly Minute

Domestic Violence Offender Management Board

QUARTERLY MINUTE

January 2020

In this issue:

DVOMB Meeting
What's New
Ask the Board
Policy Update
Survey
Committee Updates
Fatality Review Annual Report

What's New with the DVOMB

Starting this month, January 2020, the DVOMB meetings will be accessible online and broadcast live each and every month! That means that anyone can join a portion or attend the full meeting, and be able to hear the Board’s discussion, ask questions, and provide input. Whether you are located in Durango, Steamboat, Burlington, or another community in Colorado, you will be able to access these meetings at your convenience.

Additionally, all public records will soon be available through a new portal that will promote greater transparency and hopefully a more environmentally conscious approach to providing meeting materials, handouts, and information to the public. The staff are diligently working to build out this application and anticipate that documents will be loaded by mid to late January, 2020.

Upcoming DVOMB Meetings

January Board Meeting

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month and this is an issue that impacts all communities in Colorado. This month the DVOMB will feature a special Lunch and Learn by Master Trooper Christopher Warren of the Colorado State Patrol. Training credits will be offered for those who attend this portion of the agenda.

What – Agenda

When – January 10 ^th , 2020

Time – 9:30AM – 1:15PM

Where – 710 Kipling St., Lakewood, CO, 80215

RSVP by email at adrienne.corday@state.co.us or (303) 239-4528

Approved Board Minutes

November Minutes – Click Here

October Minutes – Click Here

Ask the Board

Do you have a questions about the DVOMB Standards, but not sure whom to ask or where to go? Send a question to the DVOMB staff and we will select a question and answer it in the next Quarterly Minute. Your questions are important to us! Click Here to submit a question.

Q: What in the world is an Alford Plea and what does it mean for domestic violence offender treatment?

A defendant who is facing charges of domestic violence may use an Alford plea and will have a conviction on their record. However, an Alford plea allows the defendant to protest that he or she is innocent of one or more of the elements of the charge despite the plea resulting in a conviction and sentencing for the crime. While this is a possible outcome for a defendant, this has implications for court ordered domestic violence offender treatment. This might prove to be challenging for an Approved Provider if the offender asserts their innocence while being required to attend treatment. On one hand, the Approved Provider must follow the DVOMB Standards. However, if the offender does not take any accountability for the index offense or refuses to participate in treatment by virtue of asserting their innocence, the Approved Provider may need to discharge the offender and refer them back to the presiding court or Parole Board.

Welcome New Board Members

Laura Bravo

Representing the Department of Regulatory Agencies

Jeanette Barich, LCSW, LAC

Representing Mental Health Providers and DVOMB Approved Providers

DVOMB Fiscal Year End Report

If you are curious about what the Board has been working on over the last year regarding complaints, applications, trainings, and policies, please check out the presentation that was given at the September meeting. Click here for more information.

Policy Update

Revisions to Section 4.0 – Offender Evaluations

At the December Board meeting, the DVOMB approved final revisions to Section 4.0 ( click here ). These ratified changes represent the culmination of hard work by the Standards Revision Committee which met for over two years. The approved changes can be found here. While these revisions have been approved by the DVOMB, the Board has not determined a specific date for which these changes are effective. There will be an implementation period that will allow for Approved Providers to be trained and afforded time to transition their practice accordingly. As such, future trainings on the revisions to Section 4.0 will be made available to include webinars to assist with implementation.

Amendments to Section 9.0 – Provider Qualifications

Following nearly a year-long implementation period, January 1 ^st , 2020, marks the end of an era and the introduction of the revised Section 9.0 ( click here ) and the competency based approval model. This means that the DVOMB will no longer accept applications following the former, obsolete Standards. This includes the former applications for approval. DVOMB staff have finalized three of five new applications that applicants will need to be utilized going forward which are now available on the DVOMB website under provider applications.

Pre-Sentence Evaluator Status

Due to the recent amendments to the Pre-Sentence Evaluator requirements in Section 9.0, the Application Review Committee ( ARC) of the DVOMB has extended the grandfathering opportunity for Approved Providers who are licensed to request and be grandfathered in as a Pre-Sentence Evaluator. Pre-sentence offender evaluations under the revised Section 9.0 will require that person be approved as a Pre-Sentence Evaluator, similar to that of a Specific Offending Population. This status will be shown on the Approved Provider List.

Approved Providers who are licensed and meet the criteria in Section 9.06 are encouraged to request to be grandfathered. The DVOMB reduced the number of hours conducting pre-sentence evaluations required for this status from 75 to 50 at the December, 2019 meeting so you may now qualify if you previously did not. This will be the last opportunity to be grandfathered in with the new status. After February 6 ^th , anyone seeking the Pre-Sentence Evaluator Status will be required to apply and provide actual work product of a pre-sentence offender evaluation.

DVOMB Stakeholder Survey about Communications

We want to ensure that our communications with you are meeting your needs so that you are best able to apply the most up-to-date Standards and Guidelines in your daily practice and your work on teams.

Please take a moment to complete this survey to tell us how we're doing and how we can improve. There are two surveys: one for Approved Providers and another for all other stakeholders. The survey should take you no more than 10 minute. Thank you for your input!

Approved Provider Survey Stakeholder Survey

Patricia Billinger

Public Information Officer

P 303.239.4415 | C 720.692.7570

700 Kipling St., Lakewood, CO 80215

patricia.billinger@state.co.us | colorado.gov/publicsafety

Committee Updates

There are some changes happening to a few of the current Committees of the Board. The Standards Revision Committee and the Domestic Violence Treatment Provider Committee are merging into one group for the purpose of continuing the revisions to Section 5.0 of the Standards, pertaining to offender treatment. This combined group will meet monthly on the fourth Friday from 10:00AM to 12:00PM. Please contact Carolina Thomasson if you would like to attend this meeting. Additionally, the Board also chose to conclude the work of the implementation committee and formally sunset that body to focus on other priorities.

Community Corrections Conference

Division of Criminal Justice is hosting a Community Corrections Conference February 19-20, 2020. This year's theme focuses on inter-agency collaboration. Click here to learn more!

Save the Date!

Domestic Violence and

Sex Offender Management Boards

Annual Conference

"20/20: Promoting a Collaborative Vision

for the Future"

Where:

Beaver Run Resort and Conference Center

620 Village Road, Breckenridge

CO 80424

1-800-525-2253

When:

July 14-17, 2020

Call for Presentations

is now open.

See more details here . Please submit proposals via email. Proposal deadline: February 14, 2020

The 2019 Colorado Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board Annual Report

The 2019 Colorado Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board (CDVFRB) annual report is out and there is a lot to talk about. In 2018 the state of Colorado had at least 37 incidents where domestic violence resulted in a fatality and 43 people died as a result of these incidents. Of the individuals killed, 26 were the primary victim of domestic violence, 2 were collateral children, 4 were collateral adults, and 11 were the primary perpetrator of domestic violence.

This report is getting attention in the media as shown here featuring the perspective of Longmont Police Department Detective Sandra Campanella who also serves as the Law Enforcement representative to the DVOMB.

In the annual report, the CDVFRB provides two legislative recommendations:

1. Explore and study the need for standardized treatment and age-appropriate responses to juvenile teen dating violence (TDV) and abuse offenders, as well as comprehensive prevention programs for youth.

2. Explore and study the need for enforcing mandates of domestic violence offender treatment following jail-based sentences and pre-release planning that incorporates assessment of risk for intimate partner violence and lethality.

For the full report, click here .