After formation, the SART must first select a presiding officer and determine an organizational structure that meets their needs. The team may discover that creation of bylaws would be useful to set forth expectations and rules for governance. Bylaw Template

Developing communication procedures and a process for managing team conflict are required by law.

The SART must meet at least quarterly. SART responses should be modeled in a way that prioritizes safety and empowers victim choice in the process. The team also is required to develop a protocol that documents how each agency responds to sexual assault reports, and how they work together to coordinate the intervention, treatment, investigation and prosecution efforts for adult sexual assault cases. NSVRC Protocols and Guidelines

Once a protocol is in place, the team is required to evaluate the effectiveness of this protocol at least biennially, through case reviews and communication at team meetings.

SART meetings and documentation are exempt from Texas Open Meetings and Open Records Act requirements. In addition, the conversations, information, documents, and records acquired by the response team are confidential and are not subject to subpoena or discovery and may not be introduced into evidence in any civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding, except that information, documents, and records otherwise available from other sources are not immune from subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence solely because that information or those documents or records were presented during a response team meeting or maintained by the response team. The only exception to this is the required biennial report that is required to be produced by the team to the county, which should not contain any personally identifying information of a survivor.

For more information about setting up your SART, click here.