Curriculum Overview
This curriculum provides information and materials (lecture content, participant materials, slides, references, etc.) designed to equip knowledgeable trainers to plan and deliver three different versions (short, medium, and long) of a training on the supervision of sex offenders in the community. For a very quick preview of all the contents of this curriculum, click on the "site map." From this site map, users can click directly on any part of the curriculum that is of particular interest to them. The curriculum:

• Articulates the wide variety of challenges involved in supervising sex offenders in the community, particularly the ways in which they differ from other populations under supervision;

• Provides an overview of current knowledge on the incidence and prevalence of sexual offending and its impact upon victims;

• Summarizes information on types of sex offenders and what is known about the etiology of sex offending behavior;

• Synthesizes the experiences and lessons from many agencies around the nation who have developed innovative approaches to sex offender supervision in response to the challenges presented by this population; and

• Provides guidance for probation/parole officers, supervisors and policy makers, as well as for treatment providers, polygraph examiners, and others who work with supervision agencies to ensure the safe and effective supervision of sex offenders in the community.

All curriculum materials are available for review on the screen and also accessible in easy-to-print format by clicking on the Download Center.

Issues and Cautions for Users
Perhaps the most important caution for anyone planning this training is to remember that this is an opportunity for adult learning. That means that you have participants with a rich set of experiences—whether or not they are specifically related to sex offender supervision or to other endeavors. Do not plan this training as a straight lecture. Avail yourselves of the exercises and discussion questions. Invariably participants in trainings such as this take away much more useful information when they have the opportunity to engage one another actively in discussions that relate the material being presented to their own experiences.

Other issues and cautions relate to qualifications of trainers, the use of a team training approach, the importance of adapting the curriculum to your needs, etc.

User's Guide
The User's Guide previews the format of the "Presentation Content and Teaching Notes" components of the curriculum and explains the participant materials and slides provided. It also offers some hints for training techniques and methods.

Evaluation Form
This curriculum includes an evaluation form that can be used to assess how well the training you provide, based on this curriculum, has achieved its goals. You should feel free to adapt the form to more accurately reflect the specific goals of your training event.

Acknowledgments
On behalf of the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, the Center for Sex Offender Management would like to thank the individuals who guided and supported the development of this curriculum on Supervision of Sex Offenders in the Community. They provided assistance in a variety of ways: as members of CSOM's National Resource Group, as members of its Curriculum Development Committee, as reviewers, and as resource advisors whom we called upon at various times throughout the process of developing this curriculum. Without their knowledge, insight, and generosity, this curriculum could not have been completed.