Victims not wanting to take the time to fill out the paperwork, even if assistance if offered to them.  Additionally, victims are reluctant to report to law enforcement ( a requirement for state compensation) for fear of retaliation from abuser or of deportation.

The SC Department of Public Safety provides workshops to potential subgrantees to explain the application process prior to their submission, and encourages subgrantees to collaborate between agencies when applying for VOCA funds.

Currently, federal crime victims are provided services and assistance by the U.S. Attorney's Office victim advocates.  All victims of federal crime are advised of the rights afforded to them through the State Victims Constitutional amendment.

The VOCA Program Coordinators conduct at least one site monitoring visit per year to each subgrantee to allow one-on-one contact with the grant-funded personnel, executive directors and other staff members at each agency.  

1. Please see attached letter from domestic violence crime victim who is thankful that, because of the VOCA-funded advocate, her grandchild can now sleep safely.





2. From the progress report of a VOCA-funded Sexual Assault Counselor: "I have been working with an 8 year old female who is currently living with her aunt and uncle due to neglect charges.  Both parents had substance abuse issues, lived in an unsanitary environment, and physically and emotionally neglected their children. The little girl was very anxious, masturbating at home and in school, had poor social skills, was lying/stealing, and did not respect boundaries or get along with the other children in home. After several therapy sessions, she disclosed sexual abuse by a friend of her parents and also by her uncle. I have seen the client for 6 months. The aunt reports that she is a "different child." Her affect is bright, she plays like a little girl, is no longer touching herself, gets along better with people at school and at home and is doing well in school."





3. VOCA-funded personnel assisted a 20-year old woman, whose live-in boyfriend kidnapped her, raped her, and physically assaulted her.  The VOCA-funded Rural Victim Services Coordinator assisted the woman with filing a police report and provided crisis counseling, personal advocacy, criminal justice advocacy services, and follow-up services to the young woman.





4. VOCA funds made it possible to develop a remote videoconferencing site so that victims can attend parole hearings remotely. This has alleviated the stress and cost of traveling for victims who have to attend parole hearings each year to defend their cases. With VOCA assistance funds, South Carolina now can give victims a choice of three different locations to attend parole hearings.

The influx of Spanish-speaking people to our state, and the lack of bilinguals available to assist them.

1. The two VOCA Program Coordinators are able to make two site visits per grant cycle, as well as perform an additional desktop monitoring to ensure that all services are being rendered according to each individual grant's implementation schedule.  2. The Senior Accountant and Account Technician are able to coordinate site visits with Program Coordinators in order to provide full-scale monitorings, by addressing both programmatic and accounting issues with the subgranteees.