4. Guidelines for Forging a Circle of Support and Accountability

A. Purpose of Forging the COSA

This chapter is based on the assumption that the Orientation and Training sessions suggested in the accompanying Guide to Training Potential Volunteers 2002 have been accomplished. Chapter 5, which follows, will provide suggestions around securing professional support for your COSA; and Chapter 6 will provide guidelines for meeting and selecting Core members.

The following guidelines provide suggestions for:

• Group Cohesion
• Leadership and Decision Making
• COSA Meetings
• COSA as Non-custodial Community of Care
• Meeting in volunteers' Homes
• Exceptional Circumstances
• If a Core member Re-offends
• Establishing Roles and Functions within COSA

B. Group Cohesion

A well-constructed COSA will include, where possible, members with a good blend of interests, gifts and skills, which can be brought together for the healthy functioning of the group. Tasks within the COSA will vary depending on the

• particular blend of members' skills,
• unique needs of the Core member, and
• dynamics in the community and the type of community (i.e. rural, urban, mixed, supportive or hostile).

During this process many groups begin meeting at each other's homes. Members get to know one another, and begin building relationships based on friendship, trust and mutual caring, which are cornerstone values of how COSA function. Meeting at each other's homes reduces "institutional-think" and emphasizes the essential "community-based" nature of Circles of Support and Accountability. (see also section F)

C. Leadership and Decision Making

Leadership within each COSA is non-hierarchical as discussed previously (see 2(A) above) they use a consensus model for decision making whenever possible. While sometimes a time consuming exercise, this model requires each member's thoughts, opinions and feelings be considered. Leadership requires a thorough grasp of COSA's philosophy and requires consensus-building skills, conflict resolution skills and the ability to provide prudent advice. Sound leadership is also based on an ability to include the wisdom of those not part of a COSA to reach consensus. Some COSAs rotate the leadership duties among their members.

D. COSA Meetings: Regularly Scheduled and Attended by All

i. Frequency of Meetings

In the early days of walking with a core member, COSA meetings are usually held at least once each week, and more frequently as needed. For example, during periods of intense media attention or expressions of public fear, a COSA may meet daily.

As the Core member settles into the community, weekly meetings may give way to bi-weekly and then monthly meetings. A COSA should meet at least monthly. If it needs to meet less frequently than once per month, the COSA may wish to consider if it is still needed. Perhaps a few COSA members will agree to remain in contact with the core member over the longer term, allowing volunteers to be reassigned to other, more needy Core members.

ii. Attendance and Participation of COSA Members

All members of a COSA must commit to attend each meeting, including the training sessions. As a guide, if a member misses three meetings (with or without cause), their membership on the COSA should be reviewed, recognizing that a volunteer's ability to commit might change. Care should be taken to ensure that the volunteer's safety has not been jeopardized (actually or by perception) as a result of his or her involvement with a particular COSA. Volunteers who are unable to commit to regular COSA meetings should step aside with the assurance that they can re-join another COSA when their schedule allows.

In some organizations, where there may be more than one COSA functioning, participation in a particular Core member's COSA can be a matter of choice by the volunteer. Some volunteers may find that they cannot or do not want to participate in a particular core member's COSA. Volunteers should be assured that they always have a choice. Their involvement, like that of the core member, is voluntary. When their decision is made, it must be respected by the organizers, and by other volunteers.

In other organizations a single COSA may be formed in a community for a specific core member. In these cases, volunteers come forward and are trained to be on a specific COSA.

In either instance, when a volunteer commits to a COSA, that commitment is usually expected to be for at least one year, with full involvement of the volunteer with the core member and all related activities for that year. Relationships formed in that year and the time leading up to it may last long after the "official" COSA has ceased formal operation and potentially for a lifetime.

E. COSA as Non-Custodial Community of Care

COSA are non-custodial in nature and the training sessions prior to the core member coming to the community should help to foster this attitude. Conducting training sessions, for instance, at home-hosted meetings or together with pot-luck suppers is a good way of building the sense that a COSA is a community and not an extension of a correctional or judicial custodial agency. As comfort levels increase, members engage in personal storytelling, and thereby, develop an increased sense of trust among themselves. The group begins to coalesce during these meetings; coming together as an "intentional community", and beginning to appreciate and respect their differences. Most importantly, they begin to care for one another, forging the essence of a COSA as a "community of care" with bonds of friendship that may last a lifetime. In this context, the remainder of the training and preparation takes place in anticipation of receiving the core member upon his release from the institution. The core member is invited into the community created through the COSA. For some core members, this will be their first experience of being in a responsible, caring community.

F. Meetings in Volunteer's Homes

As the above section indicates, meetings held in the homes of COSA volunteers help establish the "community-based" nature of COSA. In addition, readers are encouraged to review the section on page 42 of the Guide to Training Potential Volunteers 2002, entitled "Personal Boundaries, Self-Care and Friendship."

Group members should exercise caution when involving core members in meetings at volunteers' homes. While such meetings with the core member are encouraged because of their potential for community integration and healing, they are also not a pre-requisite for a successful COSA.

It may be wise to adopt the policy that meetings in volunteers' homes not take place without the prior express agreement of the entire COSA. (Please refer to the Guide to Training Potential Volunteers 2002 for further discussion on this topic.)

An individual volunteer might invite a core member to his or her home for a COSA meeting, a family dinner, or other COSA-related purposes. Individual volunteers are free to have a core member at their home for any reason, without question. Hosting a core member in a volunteer's home requires the COSA to consider issues of safety. Some questions to consider are:

• Are there vulnerable individuals living in the home, in the neighbourhood or in the same complex as the COSA volunteer?
• Would inviting him to someone's residence place the core member or the community at increased risk?
• Is the purpose of visiting in one's own home in keeping with the philosophy and principles of the COSA?
• Has the COSA had the opportunity to discuss the matter?
• Does the whole COSA approve of the arrangement?

It is advisable that the first series of meetings with the core member not be held in a volunteer's home. These first meetings should be held at a pre-arranged location in the community. In time and as trust develops, and when the entire COSA believes it to be appropriate, the COSA meeting could be held in a volunteer's home.

The section addressing "Walking Daily With a Core Member" discusses the idea of inviting a core member to participate in such things as a home dinner, or to go on a family day outing, to your church or to other social events is discussed. These are important events that help a core member re-join community. Even so, the core member and the COSA must evaluate the appropriateness of these arrangements in terms of risk to the core member, the family, and to the community, including vulnerable persons living in the vicinity of the volunteer's home^{Footnote 7}.

G. Exceptional Circumstances

The presence of the Core member at a COSA meeting is required at all times. Only in exceptional circumstances should the Core member be excluded. In these instances the co-ordinator will facilitate a meeting with volunteers only. These "exceptional circumstances" might include instances such as the following:

• If a COSA ceases to function:
• The COSA is functioning in an unhealthy way:
• If the Core member re-offends and/or is in police custody for some reason:
• If the Core member is hospitalized and unable to attend: or
• Due to extraordinary situations when the COSA facilitator requests such a meeting.

When a COSA ceases to function within the first year, the co-ordinator should arrange for debriefing and evaluation (See Section G, below). A written plan is developed for future contact with the Core member, if future contact is planned or anticipated.

H. Meetings If a Core member Re-offends

If the Core member re-offends the LPC will arrange for a debriefing session. If necessary, the LPC will involve professional resources to assist the COSA in coping with the knowledge that their Core member has (or has been alleged to have) committed a new offence, especially if that offence is of a sexual nature. A psychologist, police officer, probation officer, chaplain or any combination of these individuals and other professionals may be invited to the COSA meeting. Issues of liability and "fault" or blame should be openly discussed.

One of the purposes of the debriefing session should be to decide on the nature of ongoing involvement with the Core member. A plan is developed for further contact with the Core member, media and other agencies such as police, psychology, correctional officials, and other community groups.

I. Establishing Roles and Functions

Some COSA find it useful to delegate specific functions to specific volunteers. Certain volunteers have more time, knowledge or experience in COSA operations. Ideally, all volunteers should be capable of performing all functions and each member should be able to assist when required. These functions do not necessarily need to be assigned. In many cases the whole COSA can assume responsibility for them.

It is important to recognize that tasks vary depending on the needs of core members and their communities. For instance, a media response is not always required for each COSA. Housing may not always be a primary concern. Mental health issues are present for some core members, but not for others.

The following list of functions is not exhaustive derived from experience but is a guide for understanding the various roles for volunteers within a COSA. The functions are not meant to be specific tasks performed by individual volunteers. Sometimes all volunteers share these "tasks", but at other times they may be assigned on a rotational basis, or may not be performed at all if they are not needed. Sometimes it may be advisable to draft "Task Descriptions" for volunteers to assist them in the initial performance of a task(s). Actual "job descriptions" for individual functions within a COSA should be avoided because they are not conducive to the communal and consensus-building approach.

J. COSA Facilitation

COSA facilitation requires good leadership skills as described above. Some COSA may rotate responsibility for facilitation, while others appoint a facilitator for the duration of the COSA's life.

The term "facilitator" describes a unique function. Facilitators assist with process dynamics. They stimulate dialogue, pose relevant questions, and keep the group focused. In some cases, the COSA's LPC performs this function. Where there are several COSAs operating at one time, there may be a separate facilitator assigned to each COSA. Some facilitation work includes the following:

• Convening and facilitating COSA meetings,
• Arranging Consultations,
• Ensuring balanced participation by all volunteers,
• Ensuring that the Core member understands what is transpiring at all times,
• Arranging and ensuring timely and appropriate liaison with professionals according to the principles of COSA,
• Working with the Regional Co-ordinator, the LPC conducts community "Orientation" sessions and workshops for correctional staff, police and other community and professional groups.

ii. Record Keeping

COSA do not normally keep minutes or detailed written records. However, it is necessary to keep essential documents such as crime cycles, covenants, court orders and important decisions. A record of communications with professionals, and of general COSA functioning is helpful. For evaluation purposes, recording attendance, chronology of COSA life (such as inception date, meeting dates, telephone numbers, dates of critical incidents, media or police contact, etc.) is also useful. This information can become a valuable in the training of future COSA.

A "clippings file" containing printed stories that appear in the media could be kept.

It has been invaluable for some COSAs to maintain a "contact log." Such a log is simply a record indicating the date and time of COSA meetings, and of contacts made between COSA volunteers and the Core member. This log may also contain pertinent notes of any outstanding concerns. These should not be confused with "case notes", as COSA are non-custodial in nature.

In some circumstances, the court could subpoena the notes kept by a COSA for a core member's court appearance. Be careful to record only defensible facts and avoid opinion when writing notes. For example phrases like, "John was experiencing a psychotic episode," or "John was very drunk," are not defensible statements (unless one is able to establish psychiatric-care credentials or the results of a breathalyzer exam!). Instead, one might write, "I found it very hard to talk logically with John today," or "John smelled of alcohol and was slurring his words."

iii. Victim Advocacy

All COSAs should have one or more volunteers who can advocate for the needs of survivors of sexual victimization such as their fear, safety, and other questions. This voice is critical for maintaining a balanced COSA. Without victim advocacy, a COSA's commitment to "no more victims" may be undermined.

iv. Core member screening and selection team

A COSA may wish to identify up to three volunteers to apply the selection guidelines for referrals of potential core members. This "selection team" could be given authority to accept or reject referrals, and to bring referrals forward for consideration by the whole COSA, especially in cases of doubt or exception. (Please refer to Chapter 6, below).

v. Relapse Prevention

All volunteers should be thoroughly aware of the core member's crime cycle, but one or two volunteers may be specifically charged with the responsibility of maintaining the COSA's awareness of the core member's relapse prevention plan.

vi. Contact with Professionals

Volunteers may wish to discuss who will be primarily responsible for ensuring regular liaison with professionals (e.g. in the areas of medical and mental health, addictions, social work social service and income assistance, psychology and psychiatry, police, social service, housing authorities, etc.). Co-ordinating consultation sessions may be required and requested by the COSA.

vii. Communicating with Community and Neighborhood Groups

Volunteers may be asked to or will want to communicate with community groups and neighborhood associations. One or more volunteers may be assigned the task of guiding strategy sessions for this purpose.

viii. Police and Media Relations

Volunteers should maintain a relationship with news media and police representatives. The COSA may appoint a volunteer who will be responsible for reporting to the LPC on matters related to police and news media issues. (Please refer to Chapter 13, Media relations, below). It is imperative that there be no contact with police or news media without specific direction from the COSA.

ix. Connecting with special groups

Volunteers will be responsible for making connections on behalf of the Core member with such groups as Alcoholics and/or Narcotics Anonymous, Brain Injury Clinics, Mental Health Units, Social Services and other special service groups.

x. Social Convening

Volunteers need to celebrate special events and milestones, such as birthdays, anniversaries, significant achievements and other special dates. Planning for these celebrations may be assigned to one or two volunteers who will keep the group informed of approaching dates and plans for celebrations.

xi. Crisis Intervention

All COSA volunteers must be trained and equipped to deal with incidents and crises within the life of the group. There may be one or two volunteers with special or well-developed skills in this area.

xii. Need to report volatile situations to the COSA

All COSA volunteers must report their concerns to the COSA facilitator (or Co-ordinator) and the whole COSA. Some of these issues could be:

• any volatile or unusual circumstance,
• anything causing them concern about the core member, or
• any matters potentially affecting the Core member.

These issues should be reported without delay. No COSA volunteer, however, should "report" anything to the police without first consulting their COSA at a specially convened COSA meeting.