The Santa Barbara Cottage SART facility was
established in 1986. |
The Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) is a multi-disciplinary
project whose success has been recognized statewide. Since 1986,
the cottage became operational providing a facility where medical
and forensic interviews are conducted under one roof.
In 1992, Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital donated the entire use
of a small house to SART for at least the next ten years. The Junior
League of Santa Barbara subsequently adopted this project. With
their leadership, the SART Cottage Project raised over $150,000
to renovate and equip the facility. Drug traffickers unwittingly
assisted the office project: The Santa Barbara County District Attorney,
the Sheriff's Department and the Santa Barbara Police Department
joined together to use asset forfeiture funds to purchase state
of the art equipment to assist in the medical examinations and facilitate
the illustration of injuries for prosecution purposes.
The mission of the SART project is to begin the healing process
for all child, adolescent and adult survivors of sexual assault
and abuse at the first contact with the legal system by responding
with a coordinated team effort involving law enforcement and supportive
social service agencies.
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The Victim/Witness Unit continues
to work with SART in providing assessment and
treatment to survivors of sexual assault. The
team approach assures that survivors are subjected
to a limited number of interviews and receive
care in the most positive environment possible.
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The Victim Witness Assistance Program Staff continue to be actively
involved with the countywide Sexual Assault Response Team. The
team is comprised of representatives from Law Enforcement, the
District Attorney's Office, the Rape Crisis Center (North and
South County), Child Welfare Services, UCSB Rape Prevention
and Education, CALM, and the Public Health Department. The members
meet on a monthly basis to review policy issues and address
potential areas of improvement. One of the areas of improvement
that was identified in January of 1998 was that of creating
a SART Cottage in the North County. With the cooperation of
the Lompoc District Hospital, who donated a small house owned
by the Hospital, private citizens and members of the SART team,
the Council successfully exported the SART cottage concept to
the Lompoc Valley. A total of $214,000 in donations were received
from private donors, as well as the District Attorney's Office,
and the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department. These funds allowed
for the completion of the renovation. The Cottage was officially
opened in November of 2000 and will serve sexual assault victims
in the North County. |
Since its inception, the SART facilities and process has been used
in hundreds of adult and child sexual assault cases.
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