December 2012 - Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence

The first two steps, evaluating existing services and determining community needs, were essential
components of the STOP funding proposal, and to the much longer process of establishing an effective
team protocol.
Of course, it was immediately evident that our county lacked trained SANEs. From the beginning,
Conemaugh Memorial Hospital Emergency Department administrators and nurses were enthusiastically
involved. This was highly important since the assessment; examination and evidence collection is
performed in the emergency room and cannot be done in retrospect. If the evidence collection is done
improperly or the chain of custody not properly maintained, the result may be a thwarted investigation
and unsatisfactory prosecution. SANE expertise is also important to establish credibility when testifying
in a court of law. SANE training was our first priority.
Next, it was essential that our SART team members had a good foundational understanding of guiding
principles of each of our county’s agencies. It is important to remember that each agency does not in
fact share the same goals, and that SART does not substitute for the individual expertise of its member
agencies, but informs the decisions of all responders through a greater understanding of each agency’s
motivations and best practices. We wanted to make certain that all of our responders could visualize
each step of the protocol, from initial contact with the SANE and advocate through the exam process,
through to the evidence handling and storage.
Developing an effective protocol also requires some out-of-the-box problem solving. In planning
Cambria County’s protocol, we found it beneficial to involve some individuals from disciplines that may
not be traditionally involved in the direct response to sexual assault victims.
For instance, when discussing how anonymous kits would be labeled and stored, it was helpful to
involve the evidence sergeant who would be responsible for the kit storage. To ensure victims did not
receive bills for the medical forensic examination, SART representatives met with the billing department
at Conemaugh Memorial Hospital. When discussions surrounding proper collection procedures and
chain of evidence handling began, we invited State Police Crime Lab personnel to meet with our
responders.
When it came time to train responders on the new protocol, we decided to include professionals from
the wider community, including high school and university administrators, social service agencies,
medical professionals, prison personnel, and offender treatment providers, recognizing that
professionals from many disciplines play a significant role in helping to recover a sense of peace and
security in the life of the survivor and in the community at large.
The benefits of working within a multidisciplinary framework like SART are many. Strong
multidisciplinary teams with active participants are able to communicate openly and honestly with one
another. These partnerships are therefore better able to adapt existing policy, or to create new policy as
needed.
In May of 2011, Cambria County officially enacted the new Sexual Assault Response Protocol and
Anonymous Reporting Method.