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Domestic Violence Awareness Month was first observed in October of 1981 as a national “Day of Unity” according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. The theme for DVAM 2024 is Heal, Hold and Center. The National Domestic Violence Hotline asks that in this DVAM, we embrace the ways we can heal from violence, hold space for survivors and center those most marginalized. In Colorado, we have many amazing organizations that support survivors of Domestic Violence. We encourage you to look at the organizations in your area and learn more about what they do to address domestic violence and promote healing and safety for survivors.
Everyone knows someone impacted by domestic violence. It doesn’t discriminate and the front lines are everywhere with domestic violence impacting people of all ages, genders, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, nearly 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence, or stalking in their lifetimes.
By recognizing DVAM, we shine a light on this issue that is often normalized, condoned, and tolerated. We want to empower survivors to seek help and encourage everyone to take an active role in prevention.
How You Can Help:
Spread Awareness: Talk to friends, family, and colleagues about domestic violence. Share resources, articles, and statistics on social media. Awareness is the first step toward change.
Support Local Shelters and Programs: Donations of time, money, or needed goods to local domestic violence shelters and programs can have a profound impact.
Be a Safe Space: Let the people in your life know they can talk to you if they’re experiencing domestic violence. Being a supportive listener and guiding them to professional help can be life-saving.
Get Involved: Participate in local events, fundraisers, or awareness walks happening throughout the month. Check with local organizations for opportunities to show your support.
My name is Allie Miller, the Technical Assistance Center Coordinator within the Office of Facility Schools. I live in Sterling and have lived and worked in rural areas for most of my life. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and most recently worked as a School Social Worker at Northeast BOCES, supporting three school districts. My previous experience spans across agencies serving adults with developmental disabilities, substance use and mental health facilities, the Department of Human Services as a caseworker, and interagency collaboration.
As the Technical Assistance Center Coordinator, my goal is to provide support and resources for rural districts and administrative units who are facing challenges while supporting students with exceptional and specialized needs. These challenges may be due to lack of access to resources, and geographic constraints. Students within this category may be experiencing mental health challenges, have behavior issues, and/or otherwise attend a specialized day treatment center. Support could include coaching, providing trainings, and connecting to resources.
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During this last quarter, the SOMB is happy to announce the reappointments of five members: Norma Aguilar-Dave who represents Out of Home Placements, CDHS and Dr. Carl Blake representing Division of Youth Services, CDHS. Michelle Simmons and Katie Abeyta, representing victims/survivors and Victim’s Rights’ Organizations and Gregg Kildow who represents Community Corrections. We thank these members for their continued service to the SOMB. For more information about the SOMB and its members, please review the SOMB website.
Throughout the last year, you have heard staff discuss a focus on more training and implementation. Erin Austin and Paige Brown, the SOMB Implementation Specialists, are working to obtain implementation certifications to serve you all better. If you look up the term “Implementation”, this is defined as “the process of putting a decision or plan into effect: execution”.
Since its inception, the SOMB has worked diligently with SOMB-approved providers, supervising officers, victim representatives, and other professionals to ensure information is disseminated throughout the field. This includes changes in legislation and ongoing revisions to both the Adult and Juvenile Standards and Guidelines. Although this information has continued to be distributed to the field with emails, and regular training, the Staff of the SOMB realizes the need for additional support within the field. The goal is to help providers and all members of Community Supervision and Multidisciplinary Teams to have a better understanding of the HOW and WHY following standards revisions.
One of the first steps in providing additional support is the Community Round Table Discussions being scheduled throughout the state to enhance collaboration and communication. The hope is to bring teams together to discuss any issues, or concerns, and allow them the space to discuss growth opportunities. These discussions are also designed to help identify areas in which they are already successful. Staff will use this information to inform the need for training, technical assistance, or the need for further discussion by the Board or its committees. This will assist the staff in improving our practices around standard revisions, training, and technical assistance. We invite you all to be on the lookout for a Round Table Discussion near you and encourage you to sign up to attend!
We are busy working with our IT department to implement a smooth process for Standards Compliance Reviews. Pursuant to C.R.S. 16-11.7-103(4)(h.5), the ARC must perform compliance reviews on at least ten percent of treatment providers on the Approved Provider List, every two years. This new process will be implemented soon, please be on the lookout as you may be a part of a random SCR. All correspondence will be in writing via email. As always please contact reggin.palmitesso-martinez@state.co.us for questions, concerns or comments.
Additionally, we are excited to announce a provider specialty option implemented in the Provider Data Management System! You will see a list of options you can select from the new tab “Specialties” which is found under Languages in your provider account. While the SOMB does not regulate a provider’s selected specialty, we encourage you to add them if it is an area you have competency in. These specialties will also be included in the Provider Listings. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
Check out the excellent training event hosted by the ODVSOM featuring leading researcher Dr. R. Karl Hanson. His morning session will focus on desistance from sexual offending and its implications for evaluating and promoting client change. The afternoon session will explore how to use the Time Free risk calculator to inform decisions about estimating lifetime sexual recidivism risk, risk in cases of a new non-sexual offense, and when someone has spent many years in the community without known sexual offending. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the foremost professionals in this field!
And, ICYMI, here is the (inaugural) ATSA Visionary Voices with Dr. Karl Hanson.
https://x.com/ATSA_Official/status/1759594516540227807
Desistance is the transition to forms of psychological and community adjustment in which future offending is very unlikely. Although we can never say with certainty that the risk is zero (for anybody), the risk can be so low as to indistinguishable from the baseline likelihood of first-time offending in the general male population. Contrary to general expectations, desistance from sexual and nonsexual offending is the norm, and can be assessed using currently available methods. This presentation will review recent studies on the evaluation of change in the community, meta-analyses of the effectiveness of psychological interventions, the personal factors associated with an accelerated transition to desistance, and the pervasive predictive power of time offence-free in the community.
Date: November 14, 2024
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
IN PERSON ONLY
Location: PPA Event Center
2105 Decatur Street, Denver, CO 80211
Cost: $50
Audience: All professionals working in this field
Estimating Lifetime and Residual Risk of Sexual Offending: Practical Approaches.
This workshop teaches evaluators and treatment providers how to estimate lifetime and residual risk given an initial risk estimate and a period of living sexual offense-free in the community. Specifically, participants will learn how to 1) project from known short-term sexual recidivism rates to lifetime rates; 2) estimate sexual recidivism risk when the current offense is not the index sex offense, and 3) estimate current sexual recidivism risk if the individual has been many years in the community without known sexual offending. The first two applications are particularly relevant to risk assessments informing sentencing, treatment intensity, SVP civil commitment, or community risk management. The third application is relevant to risk assessments informing deregistration or discharge from long-term supervision. This presentation will explain the Time Free Calculator, which is an EXCEL program designed for making these three types of estimates. Participants will practice using the calculator for these purposes, and be given guidance on how to describe the results in reports. The presentation will also address risk assessment for individuals who have been many years sexual offence free but who continue to display risk relevant propensities.
Prerequisites:
1) Attend the morning session “Desistance from Sexual Offending”
2) Some experience with actuarial risk assessment for individuals with a history of sexual offending (e.g., Static-99R/STABLE-2007, VRS-SO, SOTIPS/VASOR).
3) A portable computer loaded with the Time Free Calculator (available free of charge at https://saarna.org/research/ scroll down to “Estimating Lifetime and Residual Risk” TIME FREE IN THE COMMUNITY CALCULATOR (EXCEL) VERSION 2024 05 28)
Electronic versions of training materials (slides, readings) will be available in advance of the training.
Date: November 14, 2024
Time: 1:30pm - 4:30pm
IN PERSON ONLY
Location: PPA Event Center
2105 Decatur Street, Denver, CO 80211
Cost: $100
Audience: Evaluators and Treatment Providers
**This training is currently on a WAITLIST**
At the April SOMB meeting, there was a presentation provided by the Office for Victim Programs in which it was discussed that there have been major cuts to grants and programs that fund crime victim services across the nation. Unfortunately, The Blue Bench has been no exception to these cuts and as a result, there is not a way to maintain their current level of staff and programming with Post-Conviction Victim Advocacy (PCVA). Effective January 1st, 2025, PCVA will no longer exist as a stand-alone program within The Blue Bench.
The SOMB is aware of these circumstances and will ensure any information gained will be shared. The SOMB remains victim centered and both sets of Standards and Guidelines, Adult and Juvenile still require a victim representative on every CST/MDT. For questions, please feel free to reach out to Implementation Specialists, paige.brown@state.co.us or erin.austin@state.co.us or SOMB Program Coordinator, raechel.alderete@state.co.us
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