Opinion: Colorado lawmakers could have reformed how we deal with sex offenders. Instead they kicked the can down the road.

In the wake of the recently completed legislative session in Colorado’s General Assembly, I have lingering concerns regarding House Bill 1320, a piece of “sunset” legislation extending the Colorado Sex Offender Management Board which was passed and sent to the governor.

Initially the bill would have reformed the board, but that debate has essentially been tabled by the lawmakers for two more years. This was unfortunate.

As a board-certified sex therapist and clinical sexologist, I have worked for many years to help heal the psychological and emotional wounds of survivors of horrendous sex crimes, as well as treating individuals accused of such behaviors. I’m also a professor of psychology, human services and criminal justice at Colorado Technical University. I hold a Doctor of Management degree in criminal justice, I’m a subject matter expert on sexually based offenses, and I created an advanced undergraduate course, Sex Crimes: Behavior and Consequences – one of the first of its kind in the U.S.

I recently completed a three-year doctoral-level study on the Colorado Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB), focused on its statutory mandate to employ evidence-based practice (EBP) in the mandatory mental and behavioral treatment of those convicted of sexually-based offenses.

EBP is considered the standard of care by the American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, the National Association of Social Workers, and other such authoritative agencies, and it is meant to support the very best mental health treatment possible. EBP is a protocol requiring a combination of professional expertise, scientific evidence supporting the methodology, and the clients’ individual qualities.

Yet, as I argued in my recent study, the SOMB has never employed evidence-based practice in offender treatment since its inception in 1992. In fact, there are numerous discrepancies between SOMB policies and the professional standards of mental/behavioral health insofar as EBP is concerned.

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