You Have The Power
About Circles of Support
Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) have been around since the 1990’s.
According to the Office of Justice Programs, the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART), and the Sex Offender Management Assessment and Planning Initiative (SOMAPI):
“Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA). The COSA model begins after offenders have completed legal supervision. It helps offenders garner community resources while holding them accountable to a self-monitoring plan. Studies of COSA have consistently found that its participants sexually recidivate at a significantly lower rate than the comparison group.”
What began as a program for people who offended sexually has broadened to help people reenter the community after incarceration or treatment programs that keep the community safe and reduce recidivism.
Below are some links to Circles of Support programs:
Dakota County Community Circles, MN
Circles of Support – Green Bay, WI
Read current research about the success of Circles of Support and Accountability:
Circles of Support and Accountability: Dimensions of Practice, Research, and Interagency Collaboration in Prison Reentry, by Andrew J. McWhinnie, Robin J. Wilson, and Robert E. Brown
An Outcome Evaluation of Minnesota Circles of Support and Accountability, by Minnesota Department of Corrections