We have been at our current location for the last decade.   While the space was too small for us almost from the very beginning, the location worked well. Especially since it allowed us to be co-located with Parole and Probation, who we work very closely with.

However, now STAND has outgrown our current facility, making it increasingly difficult to meet the demand for treatment services while maintaining the highest standards of care and safety. In addition, our lease arrangement is temporary, requiring us to explore long-term options that will allow us to continue our work.

Starting in 2021 we upped our efforts to find a new space.  We searched far and wide, for more than 2 years,  for a new location that would work for everyone. Unfortunately, as you have no doubt heard, we were unable to find someone who would rent to us.   This put us in a position of having to purchase a building.  Our timeline was accelerated when we learned from our landlord that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation had also outgrown their space and would be looking to take over our location in the building, at which time our lease would not be renewed. Eventually,  we found a property that allows us to grow, remains affordable, and is accessible by public transit. While we tried to avoid areas near all schools, parks, and daycares, Fargo’s layout made it impossible to meet every self-imposed restriction.

This building was chosen after an extensive search for a property that met specific needs, including affordability, accessibility, and zoning compliance. While we remain confident that this property aligns with our mission to enhance public safety and provide effective services, we have halted our move in efforts while we engage with the community and look at other options.

STAND is not a residential housing arrangement.  Individuals in our program come for treatment, and then leave.   STAND has two full time clinicians in Fargo who see clients.  Most of our staff in the Fargo office are administrative.

There have been concerns about STAND sharing a bus line with the YWCA shelter and that this will result in large numbers of offenders on the same buses as victims of domestic violence.   STAND needs to be accessible by public transportation, as such we need to be on a bus line.  However, at this current time, with our current census,  NONE of our clients are taking the bus to treatment.

No. While STAND treats men, women and children of all levels, if we move to the South University location, only Low and Moderate Risk offenders would be seen  there.  STAND has responded to community concerns about High Risk offenders and in partnership with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation offered a concession that if we were to operate out of the South University location, we would see all High Risk offenders at our current location near the Cass County Jail.

As research shows, participation in well-designed treatment programs significantly reduces the likelihood of re-offending. Accessibility ensures more individuals can access these programs.  Creating barriers and making it harder for individuals to access treatment destabilizes a protective factor with a proven track record.  Factors that disrupt services do not increase public safety.

By removing barriers to access, we can ensure that more individuals receive the treatment and support they need to manage their risk and live law-abiding lives, ultimately contributing to a safer community for everyone.

While we are always open to discussions that improve community safety, we would not support efforts that could unintentionally hinder critical services like ours from operating effectively.

There have been concerns that STAND’s presence will “act as a magnet” and bring in offenders from other states.   That is not the case.    The men, women and children that we serve at STAND are already part of this community—they live and work here, and nearly all of them are currently supervised by North Dakota Parole and Probation or United States Probation and Pretrial Services.   Ignoring their treatment needs doesn’t make the community safer; it makes it more vulnerable. Through monitoring, treatment, and collaboration with law enforcement, the Department of Health and Human Services, the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, United States  Probation and Pretrial Services and other partner organizations, we reduce risks and help prevent harm.   Further, STAND has been operating in Fargo since 2014.  We are looking for a new location, but we are not a new agency.

Teleheath in the traditional manner is not an option for STAND, because the population we serve most often has probation conditions that do not allow them to have access to the internet or own a smart phone.   To provide services by Telehealth we have to work out an arrangement with a third site that would allow our clients to go to that building for services, while our clinicians remain in our office.   The third site has to be set up to provide HIPAA compliant telehealth.  They also have to have staff available to check the client in and help with some of the paperwork required at every appointment.   Despite these barriers, we have worked out an arrangement with  various government agencies that would allow us to see some of our clients off-site if we were to move to the South University location.  This could allow us for example to limit our operations at the South University location to only low and moderate risk offenders and to reduce the number of hours we operate and the number of offenders who will be receiving services at that location.

STAND is not an alternative to prison.   STAND’s role begins after the justice system has acted and once they have served whatever sentence they have been given.   STAND is part of a broader system of accountability and safety, ensuring individuals who have caused harm are not only held accountable but also equipped to avoid causing harm in the future.

The North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the US Bureau of Prisons provides high quality, evidence based treatment.  However, they do not have unlimited resources, and not all defendants convicted of a sexual offense are sentenced to prison .  They prioritize those offenders with the highest risk and the highest needs in order to ensure those individuals who pose the largest risk to the community upon release are served.  This means there are low and moderate risk offenders, and those who are sentenced directly to probation,  who will complete their treatment in the community.  It also means high risk offenders, who have already completed treatment, may continue to have additional treatment needs once they are released to the community.  STAND meets those treatment needs.

There have also been questions and concerns about what exactly sex offender treatment is.   Some have been concerned that offering sex offenders treatment is “lenient” or means we are somehow minimizing the pain and the damage that they have caused.   Sex offender treatment is  always victim centric. Many of our staff, including our CEO and our Executive Vice President started their career working with children who have been abused.

It’s about taking a proactive and evidence-based approach to preventing future victimization.   It focuses on addressing the underlying factors that contribute to offending behavior, such as distorted thinking patterns, emotional regulation difficulties, and prioritizing their needs over that of others.   It targets various criminogenic need areas known to contribute to reoffend.   It teaches strategies for avoiding risky situations and emphasizes skill-building activities to assist with cognitive, social, emotional, and coping skills development.  It is often intensive and demanding. It requires individuals to confront their harmful behaviors, take responsibility for their actions, recognize the damage they caused, and make significant changes in their lives so that they live a life that is incompatible with future offending.

Several large scale studies have consistently demonstrated that individuals who complete sex offender treatment programs have lower rates of re-offending compared to those who do not receive treatment.  The effectiveness of treatment can vary depending on factors such as the type of treatment provided, the individual’s risk level, and their motivation to change.   As a field we have learned much over the years about how to most effectively provide treatment.  At STAND, our CEO has worked with this population for over 30 years and our Executive Vice President for over 25.  All of our clinical staff are members of the Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse both nationally (ATSA) and locally (MNATSA).    We have implemented research based, empirically informed treatment strategies that have a proven track record of reducing the liklihood that an offender will reoffend.

STAND has treated over 1000 men, women and children since 2014, state wide, and our known reoffense rate is less than 1%.  While our goal is,and always will be 0%, this number represents a significant decrease in what it would be expected to be if STAND were not providing this vital service.

Once the community came to us with their concerns we began pursuing three possible outcomes:

1. A plan that would allow us to stay in our current location
2. Finding an alternative location, (neither our current location nor the South University location), to provide services from
3. Working out of the South University location, but making changes to our hours of operations and service delivery in response to community concerns

At this point, conversations are ongoing regarding a plan that will allow us to stay in our current location, and we are optimistic about reaching an agreement. However, the details are still being finalized.   As such, STAND is continuing to address all three potential outcomes.   We are continuing to look at possible alternative locations, and starting back in November we began conversations with the community about proposed changes to our hours of operations and other changes to service delivery.

Security cameras are a reasonable and prudent measure to protect our building.