(a) There is established a Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners Advisory Committee consisting of the following: (1) The Chief Court Administrator, or the Chief Court Administrator's designee; (2) the Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's designee; (3) the director of the Office of Victim Services, or the director's designee; (4) the chairperson of the Commission on the Standardization of the Collection of Evidence in Sexual Assault Investigations, or the chairperson's designee; (5) a representative from the Division of Scientific Services, appointed by the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection; (6) the Victim Advocate, or the Victim Advocate's designee; (7) the president of the Connecticut Hospital Association, or the president's designee; (8) the president of the Connecticut College of Emergency Physicians, or the president's designee; (9) one member from Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence, appointed by its board of directors; (10) one member from the Connecticut Emergency Nurses Association, appointed by the association; (11) one member from the Connecticut Chapter of the International Association of Forensic Nurses, appointed by the association; (12) one member from the Connecticut Nurses Association, appointed by the association; and (13) the program manager of the sexual assault forensic examiners program established pursuant to subdivision (14) of subsection (b) of section 54-203, or the program manager's designee.
(b) The committee shall recommend to the Office of Victim Services policies and procedures with regard to the sexual assault forensic examiners program established pursuant to subdivision (14) of subsection (b) of section 54-203 and section 19a-112g. Recommendations from the committee may include, but need not be limited to, the following: (1) The certification process for individuals qualified to participate as sexual assault forensic examiners, as defined in subsection (a) of section 19a-112e; (2) continuing education requirements for the maintenance and renewal of such certification; (3) the development of quality assurance measures to ensure the needs of victims of sexual assault are met; and (4) such other related recommendations as determined by the committee.
(c) Any recommendations of the committee made pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be presented to the director of the Office of Victim Services for consideration. The director of the Office of Victim Services may forward such recommendations to the Office of the Chief Court Administrator. The Chief Court Administrator, in his or her discretion, may direct the implementation of such recommendations as policies and procedures pursuant to section 54-207a. Individuals qualified to participate as sexual assault forensic examiners, as defined in subsection (a) of section 19a-112e, shall comply with all policies and procedures implemented by the Chief Court Administrator to obtain certification and to remain in good standing.
(Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 47; P.A. 11-51, S. 134; P.A. 12-133, S. 30, 46; P.A. 17-99, S. 42; P.A. 18-83, S. 3; P.A. 19-114, S. 1.)
History: Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 effective October 6, 2009; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Commissioner of Public Safety” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection” in Subsec. (a), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 12-133 amended Subsec. (c) to substitute “2013” for “2012”, effective June 15, 2012, and amended Subsec. (b) substituting “subdivision (17)” for “subdivision (18)” of Sec. 54-203(b), effective October 1, 2012; P.A. 17-99 amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “subdivision (17)” with “subdivision (14)” re Sec. 54-203(b); P.A. 18-83 amended Subsec. (a)(9) to replace “Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services, Inc.” with “Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence”, effective July 1, 2018; P.A. 19-114 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting former Subdiv. (2) re Chief State's Attorney, redesignating existing Subdiv. (3) as new Subdiv. (2), adding new Subdivs. (3) and (4) re director of Office of Victim Services and chairperson of Commission on Standardization of the Collection of Evidence in Sexual Assault Investigations, respectively, redesignating existing Subdiv. (4) as new Subdiv. (5), deleting former Subdivs. (5) and (10) re representative from Division of State Police and member from Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, respectively, redesignating existing Subdivs. (11) and (12) as new Subdivs. (10) and (11) and adding Subdivs. (12) and (13) re member from Connecticut Nurses Association and program manager of sexual assault forensic examiner program, respectively, amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “advise” with “recommend to”, replacing “on the establishment and implementation of” with “policies and procedures with regard to”, replacing provisions re committee to make specific recommendations in former Subdivs. (1) to (6) with provisions re recommendations that may be included by committee in new Subdivs. (1) to (4) and amended Subsec. (c) by deleting provision re termination of committee and adding provisions re presenting recommendations to director of Office of Victim Services, forwarding recommendations to Chief Court Administrator, implementation of recommendations and compliance with policies and procedures, effective July 1, 2019.