§ 39-13-704 — Sex offender treatment board - Creation - Membership - Term - Duties - Immunity from liability

(a) There is created, in the department of correction, a sex offender treatment board, which shall consist of twelve (12) members. The membership of the board shall consist of the following persons: (1) One (1) member representing the judicial branch, appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court; (2) Two (2) members representing the department of correction, appointed by the commissioner of correction; (3) One (1) member representing the Tennessee bureau of investigation, appointed by the director; (4) One (1) member representing the department of children's services, appointed by the commissioner of children's services; (5) One (1) member, appointed by the commissioner of correction, who is a licensed mental health professional with recognizable expertise in the treatment of sex offenders; (6) One (1) member, appointed by the commissioner of correction, who is a district attorney general; (7) [Deleted by 2021 amendment.] (8) One (1) member, appointed by the commissioner of correction, who is a public defender; (9) One (1) member, appointed by the commissioner of correction, who is a representative of law enforcement; (10) Two (2) members, appointed by the commissioner of correction who are recognized experts in the field of sex abuse, and who can represent sex abuse victims and victims' rights organizations; and (11) One (1) member, appointed by the presiding officer of the sex offender treatment board, who is a representative of the board of parole. (b) The commissioner of correction shall appoint a presiding officer for the board from among the board members appointed pursuant to subsection (a). The presiding officer shall serve as such at the pleasure of the commissioner. (c) (1) Any member of the board who is appointed pursuant to subdivisions (a)(1)-(4) shall serve at the pleasure of the official who appointed that member, for a term that shall not exceed four (4) years. Those members shall serve without additional compensation. (2) Any member of the board created in subsection (a) who is appointed pursuant to subdivisions (a)(5)-(10) shall serve for a term of four (4) years. Those members shall serve without compensation. (d) The board shall carry out the following duties: (1) The board shall develop and prescribe a standardized procedure for the evaluation and identification of sex offenders. The procedure shall provide for an evaluation and identification of the offender and recommend behavior management monitoring and treatment based upon the knowledge that sex offenders are extremely habituated and that there is no known cure for the propensity to commit sex abuse. The board shall develop and implement measures of success based upon a no-cure policy for intervention. The board shall develop and implement methods of intervention for sex offenders that have as a priority the physical and psychological safety of victims and potential victims and that are appropriate to the needs of the particular offender; provided, that there is no reduction of the safety of victims and potential victims; (2) The board shall develop guidelines and standards for a system of programs for the treatment of sex offenders that can be utilized by offenders who are placed on probation, incarcerated with the department of correction, placed on parole, or placed in community corrections. The programs developed shall be as flexible as possible, so that such programs may be utilized by each offender to prevent the offender from harming victims and potential victims. The programs shall be structured in a manner that the programs provide a continuing monitoring process, as well as a continuum of treatment programs for each offender as that offender proceeds through the criminal justice system, and may include, but shall not be limited to, polygraph examinations by therapists and probation and parole officers, group counseling, individual counseling, outpatient treatment, inpatient treatment, or treatment in a therapeutic community. The programs shall be developed in a manner that, to the extent possible, the programs may be accessed by all offenders in the criminal justice system. The procedures for evaluation, identification, treatment, and continued monitoring required to be developed shall be implemented only to the extent that funds are available in the sex offender treatment fund created in § 39-13-708 ; (3) The board shall develop a plan for the allocation of moneys deposited in the sex offender treatment fund created pursuant to § 39-13-708 , among the judicial branch, the department of correction, and the department of children's services. In addition, the board shall coordinate the expenditure of funds from the sex offender treatment fund with any funds expended by any of the departments listed in this subdivision (d)(3) for the identification, evaluation, and treatment of sex offenders; (4) The board shall research and analyze the effectiveness of the evaluation, identification, and treatment procedures and programs developed pursuant to this part. The board shall also develop and prescribe a system for tracking offenders who have been subjected to evaluation, identification, and treatment pursuant to this part. In addition, the board shall develop a system for monitoring offender behaviors and offender adherence to prescribed behavioral changes. The results of the tracking and behavioral monitoring shall be a part of any analysis made pursuant to this subdivision (d)(4); and (5) The board shall compile and make available on the board's website a list of approved sex offender evaluation providers and a list of approved sex offender treatment providers that the board deems fit, based upon the provider's specific training, experience, and professional licensure, to fulfill the objectives set forth in this section. (e) The board and the individual members of the board shall be immune from any liability, whether civil or criminal, for the good faith performance of the duties of the board.

Legislative History

Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 409, s 16, eff. 7/1/2021. Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 204, s 1, eff. 4/22/2021. Acts 1995, ch. 353, § 5; 1996, ch. 968, §§ 2-4; 1996, ch. 1079, § 123; 1998, ch. 1049, § 13.