Final Audit 2

Daohillman

Informations

• Publié par: Sies
• Nombre de lectures: 17
• Langue: English

Extrait

El Paso County, Colorado
Institutional Safety & Accountability
Audit Report

A Project of the El Paso County
Greenbook Project










August 2007
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TABLE OF CONTENTS



Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………… Page 5

Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………… Page 9

Section I.………………………………………………………………………………….. Page 11
Defining the Issue: Local, State and National Framework Page 13
The Greenbook Project Page 16
Institutional Safety and Accountability Audits Page 19
El Paso County Institutional Safety & Accountability Audit Process Page 21

Section II.…………………………………………………………………………………. Page 25
El Paso County Institutional Safety & Accountability Audit Report’s Gaps,
Findings and Recommendations
- Flowchart Page 27
- Gap 1 Page 28
- Gap 2 Page 43
- Gap 3 Page 54
- Gap 4 Page 61

Section III.………………………………………………………………………………... Page 67
Appendix
A. Greenbook Executive and Oversight Committee Members Page 70
B. Memorandum of Understanding Page 71
C. Confidentiality Agreements Page 73
D. Complete List of Interviews and Observations Page 74
E. Praxis International’s List of Problematic Features of Institutions of
Social Management Page 75
F. Praxis International’s Institutional Safety & Accountability
Audit Trails Page 77
G. A Narrative Case Flow of the Audit Agencies Page 78
H. Domestic Violence: Common Definitions and Terms Page 97
I. Common Misdemeanor Charges for Domestic Violence in
El Paso County Page 102
J. Jacquelyn Campbell’s Danger Assessment Page 103
K. El Paso County Misdemeanor Domestic Violence
Sentencing Guidelines Page 104
L. References Page 105










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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A special thank you goes to the Greenbook Executive and Oversight Committees (See Appendix A) for
their ongoing support of the project. Without their willingness to be self-evaluative and their commitment to
creating a differential response for families, our community would not have been able to implement the
Institutional Safety & Accountability Audit (“Audit”).

At the request of its Executive and Oversight Committees, the El Paso County Greenbook Project agreed to
explore adult/child victim safety and offender accountability efforts in the criminal justice response. The
Greenbook Project would like to thank the Judicial Integration Committee for the hours they contributed to
discussing the feasibility of the Institutional Safety & Accountability Audit, exploring potential areas for
research, and their commitment to adult victims of domestic violence and their children. Active participants
on the Judicial Integration Committee included:
Judge Barney Iuppa, Presiding County Court Judge, and Chair of the Judicial Integration Committee
Judge David Gilbert, District Court Judge
Cari Davis, TESSA Executive Director (June 2002 – December 2006)
Doug Miles, Office of the District Attorney, Chief Deputy District Attorney
Bridget Collins, Fourth Judicial District Probation Officer, DV Unit
Misty Young, Fourth Judicial District Court, Greenbook Domestic Violence Case Monitor
Jennifer Bier, Cheyenne Counseling, Certified Offender Treatment Provider
Terry Schwartz, Greenbook Local Research Partner
Lisa Tessarowicz, Safety and Accountability Audit Coordinator
Amber Ptak, Greenbook Project Manager

The Institutional Safety and Accountability Audit Team representatives dedicated a minimum of eight to ten
hours per month for more than eighteen months to thoroughly investigate the criminal justice system’s
response to domestic violence. In order to make this project successful, these staff members received
permission from their agencies to contribute time and agency resources to the Audit. Additionally, these
agencies allowed the Audit Team representatives access to their institutional practices by allowing team
members to interview staff, observe practice, analyze case files, and conduct focus groups with their staff
and/or clients. The Greenbook Project owes a debt of gratitude to the following agencies:
Colorado Springs Police Department: Patrol, DVERT, Communications Center, and Investigations
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office: Patrol, Criminal Justice Center (CJC), DVERT, and Court and Transport
El Paso County Department of Justice Services
Fourth Judicial District Courts
Fourth Judicial Office of the District Attorney
5 Fourth Judicial District Probation
TESSA (the community-based non-profit organization providing domestic violence and sexual assault
victims services)

The Greenbook Project would like to thank the Institutional Safety and Accountability Audit Team (“Audit
Team”) and the Institutional Safety and Accountability Audit Advisory Committee (“Advisory Committee”)
for their dedication, wisdom, and ongoing support of systems change efforts. The Audit Team and Advisory
Committee are visionary leaders in this community who continue to remind us that respect and institutional
empathy across agencies are required elements to improving our response to domestic violence victims and
their children. Their willingness to think critically and be self-evaluative contributed to the success of this
project and the possibility for future endeavors. Thank you:
Audit Team:
Emily Bowker, Children’s Program Manager, TESSA
Bridget Collins, Fourth Judicial District Probation Officer, DV Unit
Nancy Duke, TESSA/DHS Program Manager and Confidential Victim Advocate, TESSA
Shannon Gerhart, Senior Deputy, Office of the District Attorney
Sgt. Mark Getskow, Patrol Sergeant, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office
Officer Jennifer Lewis, Colorado Springs Police Department
Karen Lincoln, Senior Analyst, Communications Center, Colorado Springs Police Department
Misty Young, Greenbook Domestic Violence Case Monitor, Fourth Judicial District Courts
Lisa Tessarowicz, Greenbook Safety and Accountability Audit Coordinator
Amber Ptak, Greenbook Project Director
Audit Advisory Committee:
Sgt. Howard Black, Colorado Springs Police Department
Judge Barney Iuppa, Chief County Court Judge, Fourth Judicial District
Doug Miles, County Court Chief Deputy District Attorney, Office of the District Attorney
Ellen Walker, Probation Supervisor, Fourth Judicial District
Michelle Valdez, TESSA Director of Advocacy (May 2004 – January 2006) and Executive Director
(February 2006 – Present)

The El Paso County Greenbook Project would like to thank Rhonda Martinson, JD from the Battered
Women’s Justice Project for her ongoing technical assistance. With help from the Audit Team and Advisory
Committee, Ms. Martinson authored the section entitled, “Institutional Safety & Accountability Audit Report’s
Gaps, Finding, and Recommendations.” Additionally, thank you to Ellen Pence and Staff from Praxis
International and Battered Women’s Justice Project for their expertise and ongoing technical assistance.


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Finally, the Audit Team would like to thank the following individuals for their effort in making this project a
success:
Joy Knox, Safety Audit Coordinator November 2004 – May 2005
Cheryl Howe, County Court Clerk, Safety Audit Team Representative February 2006 – May 2006
Evamarie Wilkinson, Greenbook Project Assistant, October 2003 – August 2006
Michael Paymar, Resource Specialist, Battered Women's Justice Project
Karen Barner and Patrick Shargel: TESSA Clinical Team
Roberta Renfro, Michelle Jensen, Lisa Green, and Joe Burke: TESSA Group Facilitators
Focus Group Participants: Women from TESSA’s DoVE and PEACE Groups, El Paso County Court
Deputy District Attorneys, and TESSA Advocates.





A note about the use of gender specific language: Because the vast majority of victims of adult
domestic violence are women who are abused by their male partners (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000),
the content of this report often refers to victims as female and abusers as male. However, the majority
of the content in this document will apply to all victims regardless of their gender or the gender of their
partner.
This project was supported by Grant No. 2004-WR-AX-K001, awarded by the Department of Justice,
Office on Violence Against Women. Points of view and/or opinions in this document are those of the
authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the funders.
7 8 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In November 2004, the El Paso County Greenbook Project, a federally-funded initiative addressing the co-
occurrence of domestic violence and child maltreatment, embarked on a journey to implement a local
Institutional Safety and Accountability Audit (“Audit”). The goal of the Audit was to strategize ways to
improve the safety and well-being of adult/child victims, enhance offender accountability, and create a system
of accountability for the agencies that respond to domestic violence. After a series of tr