Effective sexual offender community reintegration: Changing public attitudes to create conducive contexts for implementing Circles of Support and Accountability.

Source: (2015) Boston University School of Social Work. Downloaded from Academia.edu.

The following policy proposal addresses the need for a different approach to reintegrating sexual offenders in the communities they return to after being released from incarceration, focusing specifically on changing policy in Massachusetts. The proposal opens with arguments for the utility of implementing Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) as a measure that is the best practice for ensuring safe communities and has the potential to significantly reduce state costs related to sexual offenders and the criminal justice system. To create the proper conditions for the most successful implementation of the program, the proposal goes on to elaborate the groundwork for effective media campaigns and the framework for productive community discourse. Final attention is paid to funding options and the roles social workers should take as either actors in or supporters of this policy.