This report is intended for people who are sufficiently aware of the concept of CoSA that they want to become a CoSA coordinator in their community or organization.
The acronym “CoSA” stems from a Concept of Support and Accountability believed to have begun in Canada under the commitment of a group that formed around a person released from prison to the community who was at high risk for repeating sexual offenses against children. This effort was first introduced by members of a Mennonite congregation who volunteered their time and effort to support and hold accountable this man. Since this first CoSA was formed in 1994, other communities have also formed CoSAs in their cities and towns in Canada, and towns in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other communities throughout the world. CoSAs have had good success in reducing offense rates among the men and women who have been healed through the support, guidance, and dynamics of CoSA. The current report draws on the experiences of existing and previous successful and failed CoSAs to provide guidance for training CoSA coordinators.