Our subgrantees have Crime Victim Compensation posters visible and applications accessible in all of their office and shelter areas at a minimum.  Subgrantee staff is trained in assisting victims in completing crime victim compensation applications.  The Crime Victim Compensation (CVC) Program is housed in the same division as the Victim Services Grant (VSG) Program.  The CVC and VSG staff works closely in providing training all over the state on assisting victims with filing CVC.  





Our agency continues to be proactive and conducts crime victim compensation applications over the phone utilizing regular mail for any necessary releases and signatures required.  This is an important option to have as our state is mostly rural and often times difficult for victims to travel to services.  The Victim Services Grant staff has been trained in assisting victims in completing crime victim compensation applications and is available to assist victims as needed.  Iowa?s Crime Victim Compensation application is downloadable from the Iowa Attorney General?s website which assists in making the program accessible to crime victims when they need it.  In an effort to be proactive, CVC and VSG staff travel to the various rural communities across our state providing training and education on the CVC, VSG, Sexual Abuse Examination (SAE), Victim Information and Notification Everyday (IowaVINE), and Iowa Crisis Response Team (ICRT) programs.  When we provide training to these rural communities, we make sure to invite not only the VOCA funded programs, but any program that may provide services or have contact with crime victims.  





VSG staff conduct site monitoring visits a minimum of once every three years to all grantees.  During these site monitoring visits, VSG staff check to make sure the CVC posters and applications are accessible to crime victims as well as provide any necessary technical assistance to grantees. 

As part of their grant application each of our subgrantees is required to demonstrate how they coordinate services to crime victims and how they collaborate with other local resources.  This is demonstrated through letters of support, networking agreements, memorandums of understanding and written narrative in the subgrantee?s grant application.  The Iowa Attorney General?s Crime Victim Assistance Division (CVAD) also leads by example and demonstrates how we coordinate services at the state level.  We assist communities whenever necessary by being a conduit between community agencies as needed to improve response and services to crime victims. 





CVAD is also the agency that coordinates the Iowa Crisis Response Team which is a volunteer-based group of individuals who have been trained in crisis response by the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) to respond to communities affected by a crime-related incident.  CVAD staff administers Iowa?s Crime Victim Compensation Program, Victim Services Grant Program, Sexual Abuse Examination Program, Victim Information & Notification Everyday, and the Iowa Crisis Response Team.  This allows the CVAD staff to have a strong knowledge of local resources available throughout Iowa and assists them in making these programs accessible to crime victims and communities.  

Our office coordinates and collaborates with the victim assistance staff based in federal agencies across our state.  We have a member of our agency staff who is an active participant in the Iowa Organization for Victim Assistance with members of the federal victim assistance staff.  There are members of the Federal Victim Assistance staff who volunteer as part of our statewide Iowa Crisis Response Team.

In an effort to continue to provide quality services to crime victims, the Victim Services Grant (VSG) staff from the Crime Victim Assistance Division continues to provide technical assistance to crime victim programs as needed.  VSG staff conducts site monitoring visits at a minimum of once every three years as a ?best practice? to assist crime victim programs.  As one of the aspects of the site monitoring visit, VSG staff provides feedback on ways to improve services to crime victims.  We recommend the subgrantee have a Crime Victim Compensation (CVC) Specialist come to their community for a presentation on the compensation application and process as needed.





The VSG staff provides grant orientation workshops where we review certified assurances, contract stipulations, fiscal reporting forms, statistical and narrative performance reports and services provided by the Crime Victim Assistance Division including the compensation program.  We have grant orientation workshops every couple of years.  If one of our grantees has a new key staff person or is a new grantee themselves, we conduct an in-person technical assistance (TA) meeting.  At this TA meeting we review forms, certified assurances, contracts stipulations, and best practices.  Our agency is very proactive and strives to be user friendly to our grantees while keeping them accountable.  





Every couple of years our agency conducts a crime justice conference where we utilize national speakers and local experts to expand the knowledge of our subgrantees and other community agencies who provide services to crime victims.  

1.	Client with 2 teenaged sons called the agency's crisis line. She feared for her safety and wanted to leave her abusive partner.  We provided advocacy and support while discussing her options. Client and sons decided to enter agency's safe shelter. While in shelter, all 3 received counseling services from trained advocates. Agency staff advocated with local high school to arrange transportation for the boys to and from school. When client found her own rental house, school teachers volunteered to assist the family in moving from the shelter, which is a good example of community support. Client continues to participate in weekly individual counseling as an out-of-shelter client and utilizes crisis line as needed.


2.	A 15 year old client ? asleep in her own bed ? was raped by an uncle who was staying in the home temporarily while he recuperated from surgery. Police and the hospital called for an advocate. The victim was afraid because she didn?t know what to expect. When the advocate explained that she could be with her through the sexual assault examination and also when she talked with the police ? you could tell it was a big relief. The family is Hispanic and the uncle was not legally in the country.  When the officers went to arrest him, the client?s brother, who wasn?t aware of what had happened to his sister, lied to the police about the uncle?s identity. So, the officers needed the client to identify the rapist from the safety of the back seat of their police car. The police asked our advocate to accompany her for the arrest. Since that time, we've continued to provide services including a Crime Victim Compensation application.


3.	Our office first met this 18 year old female victim through law enforcement and the advocate from Crisis Intervention Service.  The Chief of Police and advocate brought the victim to our office to meet with the Victim Witness Coordinator (VWC).  The victim had been assaulted in the early morning hours by her boyfriend with whom she lived.  The victim's body was literally shaking and she was sobbing.  There was obvious injury around the victim's neck.  The VWC and advocate met with the victim most of the morning, calming her and assessing her immediate needs and concerns.  The advocate and VWC were able to contact family and find a safe place for the victim and her 2 year old daughter to stay.  The VWC was able to inform the victim of her rights and assist her in filling out a crime victim compensation form.   The VWC in the weeks following the assault had many follow-up contacts with the victim.  She was able to arrange through the Sheriff's Office, extra patrol in the victim's residential area and help in getting the victim's and her child's personal belongings from the defendant's apartment.   Our office worked closely with the advocate in this case to insure that the victim received the support and services that she needed.  Fortunately the defendant in this case did plead guilty and the victim did not have to endure trial.   


4.	Following a packet sent and phone call to a family (survivors of a homicide) who lost a family member to a homicide, requested our services. Our advocate met with the family with the prosecutor, helped them file for crime victim compensation provided mental health referrals and was the consistent person as the family prepared for trial, went through trial and sentencing.  Trial preparation included supporting the family as the viewed evidence and crime scene photos prior to trial. The program advocate provided advocacy and support throughout the trial.  The program advocate assisted with media interactions and the family in writing and delivering a statement to the media following a verdict. The advocate was also able to have local volunteers from a church provide meals for the family during the trial as they did not live in the vicinity of the trial.  The advocate was able to call on other local community volunteers and supports that provided gas cards to the family who was driving over 50 miles each day to trial.  The program advocate helped with writing the victim impact statements and oral delivery at sentencing, supporting the family (victims).  Ongoing contact and support is provided to the family.  

In the last couple of years we are noticing that crime victim programs have successfully established collaborative partners with other community agencies to assist crime victims.  We are also noticing that because of lack of funding victim service programs have decreased in our state. Ongoing federal, state and local cuts continue to be detrimental to victim service agencies and their advocates.  The victim service programs are in such demand with these collaborative partners that the community meetings and partnerships continue to grow, but due to funding cuts staff has decreased which has put an additional stress on current staff.  This has also caused turnover in staff which then puts an additional strain on staff.  Having victim services program staff available in our vast rural areas continues to be difficult due to the ongoing local, state and federal funding cuts.  





In addition, having pockets of diverse non-English speaking populations throughout the states and working on training crime victim staff to work with these populations continues to be difficult.  Having the ability and funding to provide services to all crime victims in their first language remains a hardship for our state.  Our state continues to strive to provide quality services to all crime victims.  

VOCA administrative funds pay for Victim Services Grant (VSG) staff who administer the grant funds including providing necessary technical assistance to grantees that provide direct service to crime victims.  These individuals have experience and expertise in working with crime victims.  VSG staff conducts site monitoring visits of grantees that provide services to crime victims in an effort to provide feedback to improve services.  VSG staff reviews and enters both fiscal claims for reimbursement and performance reports into a database to assist in monitoring subgrantees.  Our grantee?s annual budgets are reviewed by the division accountant as well as a VSG program staff.  The division accountant also reviews claims for reimbursement and subgrantee?s audit reports as another part of monitoring programs.  The VSG staff continues to be proactive and develops ways to assist grantees in providing services while keeping them accountable.