Hold Team Meetings

Established SARTs generally hold regularly scheduled meetings to—

• Collect and analyze sexual assault statistics.
• Develop or revise community needs assessment instruments.
• Analyze victim experience surveys.
• Develop or revise the SART's strategic plan.
• Create or revise protocols and guidelines for a coordinated response.
• Review cases and evaluate systemic responses.
• Provide interagency cross training.
• Address public policy issues.

Team meetings are an important and necessary part of collaboration and a strategic way to monitor and evaluate the interagency response to sexual violence. As a statewide coordinator of the Kansas Sexual Assault Network put it¹—

Over the past seven years I have worked with professionals from all over the state who have come together to form SARTs. Some individuals come with an initial reservation, others come with drive and determination. The end result of the meeting process is a strong team of community members willing to learn about and from one another, sift through challenges, overcome turf issues, commit to common goals, face the fear of change, build mutual respect and ultimately, decide to change the way victims access and receive services. I have seen team members argue, I have seen them laugh, I have seen tears, I have seen compassion, I have seen frustration, and I have seen systems change for the better.

This section reviews the mechanics of holding team meetings, covering the following issues:

• Pick the place and time.
• Create the agenda.
• Facilitate meetings.
• Overcome conflict.
• Keep the momentum.
• Conduct case reviews.