VFV CoSA A joint project of: M2/W2 Association and Catholic Charities Justice Services 2012

Started in 1994 in Hamilton, ON Legislation changed allowing offenders to be detained to end of sentence and released without access to support or monitoring A high risk child molester was released at Warrant Expiry into the community He was said to be a 100% risk of reoffending within a few years He had no community support, lots of community hostility

A local pastor got involved, recruiting members of his church community to form a support group for him They helped him with practical needs They met with him regularly working through difficult times with both support and accountability He lived in the community for 14 years before he died and had NO MORE VICTIMS CoSA was born... and has spread across Canada and internationally

In 2008 CCJC coordinated a national CoSA gathering in Calgary CoSA sites chose CCJC as umbrella organization for a funding application to the National Crime Prevention Centre In the fall of year funding was granted for a National Demonstration Project in 16 sites across Canada

200 Isabella Street, Suite 303 Ottawa, Ontario K1S 1V7 Fax: Maristela Carrara, Coordinator Tel: x CCJC - July 2010

1. To conduct an independent evaluation of CoSA's effectiveness. 2. To increase CoSAs capacity in order to provide service to an additional 50 core members per year across the country.

CSC Chaplaincy has funded CoSA in various sites across Canada since 1994 Andrew McWhinnie is the National Advisor to the Associate Director General Chaplaincy CSC Chaplaincy first funded CoSA in the Fraser Valley in 1997 and continues with annual funding Regional Chaplain Dwight Cuff and Pacific Region chaplains facilitate our access to potential Core Members in institutions

Fraser Valley CoSA began in 2005 Vancouver was added to our area in April 2010 It is a joint project of Catholic Charities Justice Services and M2/W2 Association- Restorative Christian Ministries Geographically we cover the area from Hope to Vancouver, a spread of over 150 km We relate to multiple police, probation and parole offices

From 2005 to present we have had over 60 Core Members None of our CMs have reoffended with a sexual offense while being a part of a Circle Since the NCPC Agreement began we have grown from 4 to 16 circles In October 2009 we had 16 volunteers, at present we have 70+ volunteers

Over 70 Volunteers 16 Current Core Members (22 new since October '09) 17,000+ Hours of Volunteer Service (in 36 Months) 5,000+ Contacts with Community Partners Numbers at September 2012

A Circle is made up of 3-5 trained volunteers who commit to support and hold accountable a sex offender who has been detained to the end of a federal sentence for a sexual offence and voluntarily requests a Circle

No One is Disposable No One Does This Alone Community Safety No More Victims

To substantially reduce the risk of future sexual victimization within the community by assisting and supporting released individuals in their task of integrating with the community and leading responsible, productive, and accountable lives

*These #s are from October 2011 (Y3 of the National Demonstration Project) N = 132

- Wilson, Cortoni & Vermani, % 73% 70%

Building CoSA IS Building Community March 2011 Circles of Support and Accountability CSC Chaplaincy NHQ