Office of Justice Programs SMART - Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, and Tracking

Laura L. Rogers, Director

In December 2006, Laura L. Rogers was appointed by President Bush to be the Director of the newly established SMART Office for the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. Prior to SMART, Ms. Rogers was the Director of the National Institute for Training Child Abuse Professionals (NITCAP), an organization dedicated to excellence and providing forward-looking training for child abuse professionals. Ms. Rogers has trained extensively throughout the United States and internationally on the prosecution and investigation of criminal cases involving child homicide, child sexual and physical abuse, maltreatment and sexual abuse involving victims with developmental disabilities. She researches and writes extensively, and has published several articles.

Prior to founding NITCAP in 2004, Ms. Rogers was a Senior Attorney at the American Prosecutors Research Institute’s National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse (NCPCA) since 1999. Ms. Rogers was recognized as the Centers expert in topics such as child fatalities and victims with developmental disabilities. Prior to joining NCPCA, Ms. Rogers was a Deputy District Attorney in San Diego, California for 11 years. As a prosecutor, she tried over 120-felony jury trials, with a 92 percent success rate. She served in the Family Violence division for 7 years prosecuting child sexual abuse, physical abuse and child homicide cases as well as domestic violence assault and homicide cases. Here, she developed a specialty in handling cases involving victims with disabilities.

In 1995, pursuant to California’s new Sex Offender Registration law, Ms. Rogers spearheaded all prosecutions and instituted training for all law enforcement agencies in her jurisdiction. Ms. Rogers is the former Chair of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus Review Board on Sexual Abuse and Pastoral Conduct. She has served on the California Governor’s Board for the Association of Retarded Citizens, and Columbia University’s Blue Ribbon Panel to establish an EMT curriculum. While living in London, England, Ms. Rogers taught at the university level and appeared as an American legal correspondent for SKY Television. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Rogers served as an adjunct law professor at George Mason University School of Law teaching Trial Advocacy and has taught Trial Practice at California Western School of Law in San Diego, California.

Publications

  • Emergency Medical Professionals: Assisting In Identifying and Documenting Child Abuse and Neglect, American Prosecutor's Research Institute’s, UPDATE Vol. 17 #7, 2004.
  • Sexual Assault Victimization Across the Life Span, A Clinical Guide and Color Atlas, Hearing the Cry: Investigation and Prosecuting Adult Sexual Assault Cases, GW Medical Publishing, edited by Drs. Giardino, Datner and Asher. Publication Spring 2003.
  • Child Abuse Professionals: What Does Hearsay Have to Do with You? The National Child Advocate, Vol. 4, No.4, 2003.
  • Markenson, D. Foltin G., Matza-Haughton, H., Cooper, A. and Treiber, M. Knowledge and Attitude Assessment and Education of Prehospital Personnel in Child Abuse and Neglect: Report of a National Blue Ribbon Panel. Simultaneous Publication in: Annals of Emergency Medicine, 40(1):89-101, July 2002, Pediatric Emergency Care, 6(3): 261-72, July/Sept 2003, and Prehospital Emergency Care, June/July 2002.
  • Breaking The Silence: When Trust Is Abused And The Molester Is An Authority Figure. The National Child Advocate.
  • Successful Prosecution When the Sexual Assault Victim Is Mentally Impaired, American Prosecutor's Research Institute’s, UPDATE Vol. 12 #11, 1999.