(Dec. 17, 2021) –The Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB) today voted to reconsider a decision to change the language in the Standards and Guidelines for the Assessment, Evaluation, Treatment and Behavioral Monitoring of Adult Sex Offenders.
The Board voted 17-1 to reconsider the November decision, which would have replaced the word “sex offender” with “adults who commit sexual offenses” in the Standards and Guidelines. The vote came after the board collected, reviewed and considered more than 400 comments from the public, stakeholders, elected officials and the state Executive Branch of government.
The board also voted to have the SOMB Adult Standards Revision Committee conduct further research, review and summarize stakeholder feedback, and present this information and recommendations to the full Board at a future Board meeting.
The language under discussion is limited to the SOMB standards and guidelines used by treatment providers who assess, evaluate and treat people convicted of sexual offenses. The SOMB does not have the authority to change language in Colorado statute, and the term “sex offender” will continue to be used in Colorado statute and the criminal justice system, including courts, law enforcement and the Colorado Sex Offender Registry.
The SOMB is a 25-member board created by the Colorado General Assembly in order to establish “evidence-based standards for the evaluation, identification, treatment, management, and monitoring of adult sex offenders and juveniles who have committed sexual offenses at each stage of the criminal or juvenile justice system to prevent offenders from reoffending and enhance the protection of victims and potential victims.”