Most subgrantees report they have no problems that hinder their assistance of crime victims in filing for victims compensation. Those that do indicate the need for continual training due to staff turnover in both their program staff and in the staff of local law enforcement agencies. They also note law enforcement officers tend to refer victims of property crime to victim service providers for assistance with victim compensation when property crimes are not eligible for compensation. The other concern is the need to get law enforcement certifications in a more timely manner. Victim service providers also struggle at times in follow-up with victims who may be transient and do not have permanent addresses. This may be due to the high number of tourists visiting our State, the influx of temporary workers in the counties affected by the oil and gas boom, or simply individuals traveling through Wyoming on one of the major interstate highways, such as Interstate 80.

Wyoming's victim service providers demonstrate coordination of services in many ways. The Laramie County DV/SA program continues to fund a victim advocate in their county field Family Services office to provide direct services to children, but the position also provides first-hand training for child protection caseworkers and coordination of services between the state agency and individual victims and their families. In many communities, the DV/SA program and one or more victim/witness programs work together by providing back-up for each other when needed. This allows for seamless victim services for every victim regardless of when, where or how they are victimized. Wyoming also supports a number of local sexual assault response teams which are built on the concept of the multi-disciplinary team response and requires a high level of coordination and collaboration.





Additionally, all Division subgrantees are required to collaborate with all other victim service providers and criminal justice partners in their community as a condition of funding. This is demonstrated through an MOU which is submitted as part of their funding application package. Community collaboration is also an important component during site visits. The Division's program manager addresses collaboration with each subgrantee as well as with all victim service providers at a combined meeting. Through their collaboration, programs are able to identify potential gaps and overlaps in services within their community and work together on issues of victim safety, community awareness, training and outreach.

The Division of Victim Services and local victim service programs continue to work cooperatively with the Wyoming U.S. Attorney's Office and the State FBI office to ensure federal crime victims are served. 





Local programs understand the VOCA requirement to serve federal victims of crime and know how to contact all federal agencies which work with victims of crime in Wyoming. We are also getting more frequent contacts for information and assistance from staff at Yellowstone National Park.





Representatives from federal victim service providers are often recruited to serve on Division committees or work groups.

The Division is fortunate to have positive and cooperative partners in most agencies in State government (such as The Wyoming Department of Corrections, Wyoming Department of Health, Wyoming Department of Education, Wyoming Department of Family Services,) and many of their divisions (such as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Division and Agining Division of the Department of Health, and the Safety Division of the Department of Education). We collaborate regularly with statewide organizations (such as the Wyoming Sheriffs & Chiefs Association, Wyoming Prosecutors Association, and the Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault) on issues, policies and trainings to improve victim services in our State. We sponsor two statewide training conferences each year -- a victim services conference in the Fall and a sexual assault conference in the Spring. 





We have improved program monitoring and evaluation by moving to regional program management. We now have three regional program managers who each provide technical assistance and monitoring of all programs and all victim services funding in a third of the State. We believe we have improved consistency and are able to provide more in-depth support for local victim service providers. In program monitoring we have added desk reviews to our process. Every program will have a monitoring on-site compliance visit every other year. In the year a physical on-site is not conducted, a desk review will be completed. This allows us to provide more immediate assistance to programs and communities as needed.

A DV/SA program in Campbell County provided advocacy and sustained support for a victim of domestic violence whose husband attempted to gut her, cutting her from her sternum to her pelvis, and left her to die. The victim suffered severe PTSD and required shelter, emergency assistance with food and housing, and assistance in filing for victims compensation while she put her life back together through counseling, found a job and eventually was able to purchase a home and regain her confidence and dignity.





A victim/witness program in Sweetwater County worked with the family of a victim of a DUI homicide. Their son was run over and killed in the yard of a friend. The program assisted the family with notification of all court hearings, assistance in applying for compensation and acting as a liaison for the family with the county attorneys. This program is also responsible for their local DUI Victim Impact Panel and the family of this victim has become actively involved and plan to speak about the loss of their son in the near future.





A CASA program in Natrona County has worked for a number of years with a young woman who was severely abused by her mentally-ill mother. The CASA volunteer kept the child informed on what happened in her case, participated in hearings and MDT meetings when the child was afraid or emotionally unable to participate on her own. The CASA volunteer assists the child in communication and in arranging safe visitation with her mother. She is now 17 and indicates that as a result of CASA's intervention, she is successful in school and is a member of the National Honor Society. She is active in her school choir and church and worked last summer as a summer camp counselor.





A DV/SA program in the northwest region of Wyoming worked with an eleven-year-old sexual assault victim and her mother. The offender was the step-father. The family lived 31 miles out of town making them very isolated. Mom was in shock but through the support of the program advocate did all the right things to help her daughter and cooperate in the prosecution of the offender. The program assisted the daughter and mother with safety planning, immediate financial assistance for transportation and other family needs, and in applying for victim compensation for mental health counseling for the daughter and the rest of the family, as well as for loss of support. Benefits were received very quickly and assisted the family in becoming self-sufficient. After four months in jail, the offender was released without bond, creating renewed trauma for the family. The program advocate assisted the mother in telling the children about the offender's release. The advocate also attended court with the victim and her family, supplied prompt notifications of hearings and other case events, and even was able to get bicycles donated for the two girls. In the course of the case, the second daughter disclosed she had been abused also. The program advocate assisted all the family in preparing and presenting victim impact statements. The family survived a very difficult trial and has stayed in touch with the program to keep them informed on the girls' progress.

The greatest issues impacting victims in Wyoming are related to the oil and gas energy boom. The lack of available and/or affordable housing and the struggle to attract and retain quality staff in competition with much higher pay in the energy-related jobs is a challenge in literally every county in our State. The increased cost of gas and transportation has also negatively affected victims and the programs that serve them. Many counties have one court which covers a number of remote communities, requiring victims to travel sometimes 90 miles or more one-way for a hearing or meeting.





Many programs still report the need to increase their cultural competency and ability to communicate and provide services to non-English speaking victims who work in the tourism industry in Wyoming.

The VOCA administrative funds are used by the Division to improve the quality of victim services in our State through the provision of quality training at our annual statewide victim services conference. National and regional experts are brought to the conference on a wide range of topics with the goal of inspiring, rejuvenating and providing new and greater skills to advocates and other attendees. Victim service providers and criminal justice partners continue to evaluate the conference as better than most national trainings they attend. 





VOCA administrative funds also support the attendance of Division staff at national grantee meetings and conferences to ensure their ability to provide current and the highest quality of technical assistance and information on trends and best practices to support victim service programs and their staffs.