Cooke County SART updates protocols to comply with Texas law, commissioners accept annual report

Ginger Johnson, executive director of the County Family Crisis Center, presented the Cooke County Sexual Assault Response Team’s annual report to the commissioners, saying the multidisciplinary team (MDT) chaired by Judge Rome includes the district attorney’s office, law enforcement, the SANE nurse, mental health professionals and community victim advocates such as Abigail’s Arms. Johnson said the team meets quarterly and has updated its protocols “so they are in compliance with Senate Bill 476.”

Johnson described recent trainings for law enforcement and MDT members designed to clarify the SANE nurse’s role and the steps that follow when a victim presents at a crime scene or at a hospital. She said the MDT reviewed a written narrative from an adult victim to identify areas for process improvement and to better align responses across agencies. “Something as simple as asking, ‘what were you wearing?’ can be perceived by a victim as blaming,” Johnson said, describing how the narrative shaped training and protocol changes.

The report, Johnson said, covers adult victims for the SANE exam portion; child victims served through the Child Advocacy Center and exams performed by the same SANE nurse were noted as outside the adult-only case counts in this report. After the presentation, Commissioner Hart moved to accept the annual report; Commissioner Sikkin seconded and the motion carried by voice vote, 3-0.

The court offered brief thanks for the work. No further follow-up timeline or additional county action on the report was specified at the meeting.