Model Protocol for Multidisciplinary Teams - Office of the Attorney ...

DATA COLLECTION BY THE MULTIDISCIPLNARY TEAMEach multidisciplinary team on child sexual abuse must compile an annual report. Thereport shall contain non-identifying case information. The purpose of the report is toallow assessment of the processing and disposition of child sexual abuse cases (KRS620.040(7)(e)).In addition to the duty of the teams, the Prosecutors Advisory Council is required tocollect data on the investigation, prosecution, dismissal, conviction or acquittal of childsexual abuse cases (KRS 15.706). In 1998, the Commission agreed to combine thereporting requirements to eliminate duplication and a form was created to capture data(See Appendix B). The intent of the form, in addition to tracking the outcome of cases,is to serve as a checklist and a guideline for discussion.Ideally, prosecutors are active members of each multidisciplinary team, as required inKRS 15.727 and are available to advise the team of the outcome of the prosecution ofeach case reviewed. The data can be broken down into two types:1) Information regarding the composition and procedures of the multidisciplinaryteam; AND2) Data on each child sexual abuse case reviewed by the team/prosecuted by theCommonwealth's or county attorney.Each multidisciplinary team has the responsibility to submit a team summary sheet anda review sheet for each case reviewed by the team. This will assure compliance withthe requirement to provide an annual report (KRS 620.040(7)(e)). Review sheets andsummary sheets are to be submitted each January for the preceding calendar year.Every case reviewed by the team during the prior calendar year should be reflected ona review sheet. Historically, the data has been entered by the Prosecutors AdvisoryCouncil staff and compiled into an annual report.AutomationIn 2002, the Governor's Office of Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Services receiveda federal Byrne grant to permit several innovations in child sexual abuse prosecution. Aportion of the grant was spent to develop an automated system of data collection. Thesystem, developed by the Governor's Office of Technology, will serve to greatly simplifythe reporting process.Under the new system, when fully implemented, teams will be able to input data on thereview sheets during team meetings through the use of lap tops or immediatelyfollowing team meetings on desktop PC's. The information can be submittedelectronically via an Internet connection when the team closes the case. The accuracyand ease of data collection should significantly improve once the automated system is38