Special Commission to Reduce the Recidivism of Sex Offenders
December 3, 2014, 9-11 am
State House, Room 350
Meeting Minutes
Materials provided or presented at Commission Meeting:
Draft Minutes from 10/22/14 Meeting
12/3/14 Meeting Agenda
Presentation by Dr. Knight on civil commitment
Presentation by Drs. Peretti and Berard on the treatment and management of incarcerated and committed sexual offenders
Commissioners Present:
Co-Chair William N. Brownsberger, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary
Co-Chair Paul Brodeur, State Representative
Evandro Carvalho, State Representative
Kathy Betts, Assistant Secretary for Children, Youth, and Families
Robert Kinscherff, Ph.D., Esq., Associate Vice President for Community Engagement, Office of the President, and Teaching Faculty, Doctoral Clinical Psychology Program, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology
Larni Levy, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel Services
Nancy Connolly, Psy.D., Program Director, Mentally Ill/Problematic Sexual Behavior, Program of the Department of Mental Health
Raymond Knight, Ph.D., Gryzmish Professor of Human Relations, Department of Psychology, Brandeis University
Laurie L. Guidry, Psy.D., President, Center for Integrative Psychological Services, Inc., and President, Massachusetts Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers
Andrea Cabral, Secretary of Public Safety and Security
Maureen Gallagher, Director of Policy, Jane Doe, Inc.
Anne Conners, Chairperson, Sex Offender Registry Board
Marian Ryan, District Attorney for Middlesex County
Commissioners Absent:
Joan B. Lovely, State Senator (represented by her designee, Grace Harrington)
Edward J. Dolan, Commissioner, MA Probation Service (represented by his designee, Maria Walsh)
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Senator Brownsberger called the meeting to order. He explained that the changes to the legislative charge, membership, and reporting deadline had not made their way into the final version of the most recent supplemental budget but that the Commission would continue to do its work and would seek a legislative extension of the deadline.
Dr. Raymond Knight gave a Powerpoint presentation on civil commitment, providing an overview of its history and status in addition to evaluating its effectiveness. Dr. Knight took questions from Commission members and attendees.
Dr. Kaitlyn Peretti and Dr. Brooke Berard gave a presentation on the treatment and management of incarcerated and committed sex offenders. Drs. Peretti and Berard took questions from Commission members and attendees.
The Commission discussed its path forward. Commissioners planned for the next few meetings to include presentations by systems players, including the Sex Offender Registry Board. Commissioners expressed interest in hearing from the Department of Probation, the Parole Board, DYS, DMH, MDAA, and Fred Smith of St. Francis House, as well. Commissioner Gallagher asked that presenters include as part of their presentations how victims are part of the process. The commissioners agreed to meet again on January 14, 2014, in a bigger room.
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