Most programs reported increased usage and improved cooperation between victim service agencies and the compensation agency.  One program had a 9% increase in filings.  Challenges listed included difficulty in assisting victims without permanent residences or contact information; victim reluctance to report to law enforcement; victim readiness for reporting to law enforcement within the five day time frame or filing with the compensation board within two years of the crime; language barriers, concern over immigration status, and difficulty in reaching remote villages to provide information about the compensation process and offering hands-on assistance in filing.





Here is an example of how a victim service agency and the compensation agency are working together to assist victims:  A major challenge in our area is the belief of most crime victims that crime compensation doesn?t apply to them.  Most of the crime victims in our region are Alaska Natives who are Indian Health Service beneficiaries and are not charged for medical care or behavioral health services.  Many are not employed in regular ?paycheck? jobs, so they don?t face loss of wages in the traditional sense.  We have been able to educate victims and responders about the applicability and accessibility of crime compensation, and the VCC Board and staff have been beyond terrific in their willingness and ability to make compensation available and accessible.  This includes things like helping victims establish a financial value for loss of ability to participate in subsistence harvest in order to provide compensation on the same basis as lost wages.  The VCC staff has also worked closely with us in helping keep contact with transient victims and/or persons living in areas with limited communications and has provided excellent training opportunities to SAFE staff and volunteers in assisting crime victims in filing for compensation benefits and in understanding state victim compensation eligibility requirements.  

Most victim service agencies either chair or participate on local domestic violence/sexual assault task forces.  These task forces bring together criminal and civil justice system personnel, healthcare professionals, and community leaders interested in assisting victims and holding perpetrators accountable for their actions.  Many agencies coordinate efforts with local Tribes to enhance services to Alaska Native crime victims.





Here is an example of how a victim service agency coordinated efforts in their community. The LeeShore Center works hard to promote collaboration and coordination of services with other service providers in the community to aid crime victims.  They work closely with all three local law enforcement agencies in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, as well as the District Attorney?s office and Victim Witness Paralegals, regularly.   The LeeShore Legal Advocate is available at the Kenai courthouse five days a week (in the afternoon) to provide court-based legal advocacy for victims of crime needing assistance (the courthouse provides her office space).  





Through the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) process, LeeShore works closely with law enforcement, prosecutor, medical personnel and Office of Children?s service personnel to provide services to sexual assault victims.   Over the last two years, trained staff from the local tribe has also assisted LeeShore with SART call-outs to provide additional resource and support services to Native victims of sexual assault.  





LeeShore also works closely with the local disability service provider to provide safe shelter / services for victims with disabilities and to educate professionals and community members on issues of violence against individuals with disabilities. 

Programs report making services available to all crime victims without regard to local, state or federal case status; however, most programs do not have interactions with federal victims and report not being aware of federal crimes being committed in their service areas.





Here are two examples of efforts taken by a victim service agency to serve federal crime victims:  Standing together Against Rape (STAR) assisted with the first Federal sex trafficking trial in Alaska, which concluded in February with convictions on 28 counts of sex trafficking of minors and adults and drug trafficking charges.  





In June, a Seattle man pleaded guilty to sexual harassment of a federal fisheries Observer aboard the fishing vessel, Aleutian Spray.  STAR provides information and training to supervisors supporting Observers employed by the National Marine Fisheries Sciences Observer Program. Trainings include sexual harassment and assault information, safety planning, and training our crisis line staff how to deal with calls from an Observer on a vessel, when it is appropriate to contact the Coast Guard, and when it is best to reach their supervisor.  

All programs reported providing in-service training to staff to improve delivery of services.  Programs also reached out to community organizations, Tribes and immigrant communities to both enhance skills of people who interact with victims and to increase victims? access to services.  Training topics included Sexual Harassment, Drunk Driving Awareness and Drug Recognition, Working with the Mentally Ill Victim, Suicide Intervention, Ethics and Boundaries, Legal Advocacy, Crisis Intervention Skills, Human Trafficking, Cultural Competency, Developmental Delay and Disabilities Training, Sexual Assault Response Team participation, Mandated Reporting of Child Abuse and Vulnerable Adults and Safety Planning.


	


Here is an example of an activity conducted to improve the delivery of victim services:  Abused Women?s Aid In Crisis (AWAIC) Executive Director, Judy Cordell spear headed an effort to bring Jackie Campbell, published author and expert on danger assessments to Anchorage. An all-day training occurred on June 24, 2008, certifying 190 community partners (law enforcement, criminal justice system, domestic violence advocates and other non profits) in dangerousness assessment.  Ms. Cordell brought together multiple funders so that attendance to the full day conference and the associated certification was free. 

A married immigrant woman was stalked and sexually harassed by a male business associate who could have a negative impact on her immediate and extended family?s income.  Due to language barriers and a lack of knowledge of US laws, she was afraid to report this and endured ongoing sexual coercion, harassment, and threats.  With the assistance and advocacy of Unalaskans Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence (USAFV) staff, she was able to report the situation to her employer, to the perpetrator?s employer, and to the police.  She also disclosed the situation to her husband and other family members, which was very difficult for her.  With USAFV?s help she filed for a protective order against the perpetrator.  She is receiving ongoing personal support from USAFV, as is her family.  





R.R. is 50+ years old, disabled and unable to work.  She came to Women In Safe Homes (WISH) from an extremely physically violent relationship of 20 years.  When she arrived it was necessary for her to use a walker some of the time due to injuries she sustained just prior to shelter.  She stayed at WISH for approximately four months during which time she made significant strides toward mobility.  With encouragement from the advocates she embarked on a strength building routine and was able to rid herself of the walker within a month.  She then applied for and was granted SSI, food stamps and medical assistance.  She moved into her own apartment and is currently involved with a woman?s group, teaching crochet and tutoring 2 GED students.





A mother and her seven children came to shelter and for the first time spoke of the physical and sexual abuse that had been occurring in their household for over 20 years.  The perpetrator used religion and isolation, including home schooling the children, as a means to keep them under his control.  The eldest daughter worked with law enforcement and eventually the father pled guilty to several charges and was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison.  This family stayed in shelter several months, obtained employment, their own house, and the kids went to school for the first time ever.  They have reunited with the eldest son who was banished and with extended family.  Advocates worked closely with this family for nearly a year providing hours and hours of support and resources.





Staff and volunteers supported by VOCA funding were able to render a wide range of advocacy, crisis counseling, legal assistance, and crime victim?s assistance to the children and family members of a homicide victim during the trial of the accused murderer of their mother.   The jury returned a conviction for murder in the first degree.  Sentencing is scheduled for this fall.  





The following letter was received from a woman after her departure from shelter to independent housing with her 3 children:  I want to begin by saying ?Thank You? 


For a person like me; I never knew that one could get so much support, knowledge, advice, and love from one place, as done at the shelter.  I feel I was put there for a reason and the advocates were there to show me the way.  I have learned that I no longer have to be alone.  There are ways that one could go about things and make their lives better, but first you would need the tools to do so.  The Advocates there are the ones that gave me the tools.  And now because of that I am very confident and proud.  I am very grateful for having gone through this journey ? the shelter being the first to cross ? and never forget the women (staff) that have helped me along the way.  I am very grateful for the services that were provided to me and my children.  It is wonderful to know that there is a safe and warm place for women to go in the time of need.  Thank You again and God Bless! 





Finally, a letter from a program participant still in shelter:  Though I may say it often, this is one official thank you for being a very amazing group of people I could not formerly imagine existed in such a setting as this especially.  Thank You for restoring much of the hope & faith I often times now have.  Thank You for helping me imagine strength & safety could be built by these tattered hands of mine.  Love -----

Consistent with last year?s report, lack of affordable housing and rising costs in fuel and other utilities topped the list of trends impacting crime victim services.  Most of the shelters for victims of domestic violence are regularly extending stays beyond the standard thirty day time limit for women unable to secure permanent housing.  As an example, one shelter reported serving three families that stayed in the shelter for three and four months.  As examples of high utility costs, one program reports the cost of heating oil at $6.00 a gallon.  Another program reports the cost of gasoline at $4.74 a gallon.  Longer stays and rising fixed costs negatively affect both the type of services programs can offer and the amount of services available.





Other trends that carried over from last year include lack of legal representation for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and the increase in domestic violence and sexual assault victims seeking services with multiple issues ( also dealing with mental health issues and/or drug and alcohol abuse issues).





Emerging issues reported by programs include:


1) Lack of law enforcement officers.  Many villages are without village public safety officers or village police officers and now it appears that urban areas are also suffering from a shortage of officers.  One program reported the local law enforcement agency is short 6 officers.





2) In some areas of the state it appears there is a trend to charge perpetrators with lesser misdemeanor crimes or to plea bargain to convictions of lesser crimes. One program reports a concern over the small number of sexual assault cases going to trial. 





3) The ?anonymous reporting? option which will be available to victims of sexual assault starting in January 2009 in Anchorage.  The Department of Law, Anchorage Police Department, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners and Standing Together Against Rape (STAR-the local rape crisis center) have been planning for this change and will be prepared to respond to victims/survivors of sexual assault regardless of the reporting option they chose.  STAR expects to report more on this issue next year.





5) Some areas of the state report an increase in human trafficking.  Programs are working with the Alaska Immigration Justice Project to become informed on the legal issues surrounding trafficking and learning how to best advocate for victims of this crime.

Alaska uses its administrative funds to provide technical assistance to and evaluation of VOCA Subgrantees.  Technical assistance is provided through teleconferencing on various topics--data reporting for example-- distributing model forms and helping programs with policy development.  State program coordinators evaluate funded programs biennially.  These evaluations include:  review of each program?s financial, administrative, volunteer and shelter policies to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations; interviews with program staff and board of directors to determine whether actual practice reflects the written policies; and interviews with staff of community agencies that interact with the Subgrantee to measure working relationships, community reputation and strengths and/or weaknesses of the program.  The administrative funds allows the state to better monitor local program service provision; follow-up on requested remedial actions; and improve victim services through the technical assistance component.