Back to UTAH
VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT VICTIM ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM 2002 UTAH STATE WIDE ASSISTANCE REPORT Prepared By: Utah Office of Crime Victim Reparations 350 East 500 South Suite 200 Salt Lake City, UT 84111-3326 tel: (801)238-2369
STATE FUNDING INFORMATION
A. THE ANNUAL AMOUNT ALLOCATED TO THE VICTIM ASSISTANCE PROJECTS: 1. Appropriations $ 0 2. Criminal Fines and Penalities $ 0 3. Assessments $ 0 4. Other $ 0 TOTAL:$ 0
B. TOTAL NUMBER OF AGENCIES FUNDED FROM THE FEDERAL GRANT: 55
C. NUMBER OF SUBGRANTS FUNDED FROM THIS FEDERAL GRANT: 55
VICTIM STATISTICS
A. THE NUMBER OF VICTIMS SERVED BY TYPE OF VICTIMIZATION:
NO. OF NO. OF VICTIMS SERVED VICTIMS SERVED 1,266 1. Child Physical Abuse 508 7. Adults Molested as Children 6,037 2. Child Sexual Abuse 1,005 8. Survivors of Homicide Victims 295 3. DUI/DWI Crashes 402 9. Robbery 19,982 4. Domestic Violence 2,506 10. Assualt 2,720 5. Adult Sexual Assault 11,278 11. Other 153 6. Elder Abuse TOTAL: 46,152
B. THE NUMBER OF VICTIMS WHO RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING SERVICES:
NO. OF VICTIMS SERVED 17,920 1. Crisis Counseling 21,948 2. Followup 2,685 3. Therapy 3,169 4. Group Treatment/Support 4,316 5. Shelter/Safehouse 21,913 6. Information/Referral (in-person) 36,509 7. Criminal Justice Support/Advocacy 3,404 8. Emergency Financial Assistance 3,961 9. Emergency Legal Advocacy 9,247 10. Assistance in filing Compensation Claims 16,838 11. Personal Advocacy 30,067 12. Telephone contact Informational/Referral 34,869 13. Other TOTAL: 206,846
A. EFFORTS TO PROMOTE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AID TO CRIME VICTIMS: Throughout the State of Utah efforts to promote coordinated public and private efforts within the community to aid crime victims have been enhanced in the following ways: Extensive collaboration among agencies exists to ensure all available resources are made available to victims of crime. For example rape recovery centers and shelters (non-profits) refer crime victims to law enforcement agencies for reporting purposes and support through the criminal justice system. Cross referrals exist among all the agencies in local communities. Referrals made by local agencies to State agencies have increased as additional statewide services have become available. Referrals made by State agencies to local agencies have increased as additional local services have become available. Advocate agencies throughout the State provide victims assistance in filing state compensation applications, write letters providing additional information about cases to include with the applications, and make follow up calls to compensation case workers. They also assist victims in obtaining police reports and other information to accompany their applications. The Utah Attorney General’s Office Restitution program receives numerous crime victim referrals from local victim assistance programs, the Board of Pardons and Parole, and Crime Victim Reparations. Referral sources include local hospitals, medical clinics, Utah State Division of Workforce Services, Utah Department of Human Services, Utah Legal Services, Legal Aid Society, LDS Social Services, shelters, rape recovery programs, guardian ad litem programs, family support centers, schools, DCFS, mental health programs, and criminal justice agencies. Local non-profits and criminal justice agencies have increased their efforts to raise community support from local businesses and community leaders. Local non-profits and criminal justice agencies provide training for victim services staff and invite colleagues to join as presenters and participants in local training workshops and conferences. The local statewide sexual assault coalition, UCASA, coordinates issues relating to sexual assault including education, training, public relations, legislation, statewide service development, surveys, and needs assessments. UCASA has developed a forty- hour training curriculum and training manual. The training curriculum and manual are the basis of sexual assault trainings being held throughout the State. UCASA also organizes local communities and provides technical assistance in developing rape recovery programs. In the past only five Rape Recovery Programs provided services along the wasatch front. UCASA assisted in the development of five additional programs. In 2002 the Utah Sexual Violence Advisory Council was formed to assist in the facilitation, coordination, and standardization of the protocol and policies for all professional agencies serving survivors of sexual violence throughout the State of Utah. A Statewide Advocates for Victims Organization, SWAVO, has been developed to improve quality of services to victims of crime throughout the State of Utah; to provide coordination of victim service programs across jurisdictional lines; to provide minimum certification requirements; and to provide administrative support to victim advocacy organizations. SWAVO holds quarterly statewide training meetings. Attendance at these meetings ranges from 40 to 65 advocate coordinators and staff members. The Utah Council on Victims of Crime acts as a coordinating body for services, training, and legislative initiatives. The Council is a subcommittee of the Governor’s Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice and is managed by the Utah Office of Crime Victim Reparations. Crime victims, service providers, and criminal justice personnel give input to the Council on necessary statute changes, gaps in services, and victims’ rights implementation training needs. The Utah Office of Crime Victim Reparations has initiated and passed a statute change that allows CVR to not only award funds to individual crime victims but also to support additional victim needs through supporting victim service programs.
B. EFFORTS TAKEN TO SERVE FEDERAL CRIME VICTIMS: All VOCA victim assistance funded programs are informed of the requirement to provide services to Federal crime victims as they would to a state, county, or local crime victim. Several governmental VOCA victim assistance funded programs provide services to Federal crime victims who make up the majority of their service population. These are rural programs near Indian Nations. Law enforcement advocacy and county attorney office victim witness staffs provide services to bank robbery and credit union robbery cases. Nonprofit programs such as shelters and rape recovery centers also provide services to Federal crime victims. VOCA funded programs provide information on compensation benefits to Federal crime Victims. The United States Attorney’s Office Victim Witness Coordinator is a member of the Utah Council on Victims of Crime, SWAVO, and the Utah Victim Assistance Academy Planning Committee. She actively participates in the development and implementation of the State’s Annual Crime Victims Conference. As her work schedule allows, she participates as a member of the VOCA Victim Assistance Screening and Allocation Committee. She provides the Committee with important information about the needs and lack of services available within Indian Counties and within the States boundaries.
C. ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE DELIVERY OF VICTIM SERVICES: The following activities have been conducted at the State and Subgrantee level to improve the delivery of victim services: 1. Subgrantee monitoring both desk top and onsite reviews conducted by the Victim Services Coordinator and the Financial Grant Specialist. 2. VOCA RFP grant application training conducted in the northern and southern parts of the State. 3. Grant management training conducted for continuation and new subgrantees. 4. Quarterly training sessions provided for subgrantees through SWAVO meetings. Training sessions include topic such as critical incidence response, Victim Assistance Academy/Certification, burn out, media relations, and sexual assault crisis intervention services, elder abuse, domestic violence, etc. 5. Subgrantees conduct client satisfaction surveys and continually monitor and make adjustments to programs based on feedback from clients. They also individualize programs as much as possible to meet a wide variety of needs. 6. In a bold effort to better understand the nature and extent of crime in Utah, the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, CCJJ, conducted the first Utah Crime Victimization Survey in March 2001 covering January through December 2000. A representative sample of more than 2,000 Utahns participated in a survey aimed at assessing fear of crime, perceptions of risk, causes of crime, and victimization. The survey provides information that cannot be discovered in routine law enforcement crime reporting data.
D. WAYS VOCA FUNDS HAVE BEEN USED TO ASSIST CRIME VICTIMS: The following individual case histories have been provided by FY 2001 VOCA funded agencies. SITUATION NUMBER ONE (law enforcement victim advocacy program) This Victim Assistance Program offers services to more victims of Domestic Violence than any other violent crime. An example of how the program has assisted a victim of domestic violence is the case of a battered woman who admitted herself into the hospital after being beaten and bruised by her boyfriend of only 8 months. This incident was reported to the Midvale Police Department by the hospital staff. The officer arrived at the hospital and met with the victim. The victim told the officer that she was terrified of the suspect and was in fear for her safety. The officer called out the Victim Advocates to assist the victim in obtaining emergency shelter and community referrals. This was one of the worst cases of abuse ever seen by the Victim Advocates. The victim was severely beaten and emotionally terrorized. The advocates became involved with the case and began the long journey of assisting the victim into recovery. The advocates assisted the victim in obtaining shelter, mental health counseling and Crime Victim Reparations (CVR) benefits. The advocates worked very closely with the CVR case- worker assisting the victim in accessing the benefits that she was approved for. The advocates also assisted the victim in obtaining a protective order against her ex-boyfriend and attended the protective order hearing on her behalf because at that time she was too afraid to be near the suspect. The advocates attended and accompanied the victim to numerous court hearings at the Midvale City Justice Court and worked very closely with the prosecuting attorney making recommendations on the case. The advocates encouraged and supported the victim through a very difficult time in her life. She has stated many times that if it weren’t for the advocates, she would still be in the abusive relationship with her ex-boyfriend. She is very grateful for the services and assistance offered. SITUATION NUMBER TWO (non-profit protective order program) Jane (not the clients real name) filed for a protective order because her husband had beaten her. He had pushed her down on the bed and when she turned to roll over, her punched her. He punched her as hard as he could and she said he “hit like a man.” He kept hitting her. She estimated that he hit her 10 to 12 times. She thought her nose broke and felt blood rush down her face. She had to go to the Emergency Room. She was very afraid of him. Her husband had an attorney and they actually admitted to the abuse but argued Jane was not in fear. They argued that because she waited a few days to file for a protective order, that she wasn’t afraid of her husband. After argument and presentation of the evidence in court by Utah Legal Services Protective Order attorney, the judge granted Jane her protective order finding that her fear was reasonable. SITUATION NUMBER THREE (law enforcement and prosecution victim assistance programs) A VOCA funded victim assistance program responded to a homicide with a Spanish-speaking only family. The father had been shot and killed in his own home. There were two children in the home who witnessed some of the event as well as his pregnant wife. The nine-year-old daughter had to act as a translator for the mother with the 911-phone call. The father was life-flighted to the nearest hospital, while the family was left with the police for questioning. This family had very little social support; all of the extended family lived in Mexico. Our Spanish-speaking advocate was able to provide emotional support, crisis intervention and personal advocacy for the family during this critical time. This crime was devastating the family not only emotionally but also financially. The father was the only source of income in the home. Due to their status, the mother could not collect any type of Medicaid or Medicare until she was in her 8th month of pregnancy. This family was unable to pay for the many medical costs or funeral expenses. They would also be left destitute without any means of survival after this tragedy. Our agency was able to refer the mother to CVR, which helped her with funeral and burial costs as well as medical bills. Due to the trauma that occurred in their apartment, CVR awarded them monies to get into a new apartment and counseling for both the mother and children. Our detective was working in conjunction with the District attorney’s office with this family on the court case. The suspect had not been captured, but some of the accomplices where formally charged. During this time, the mother had severe problems with the unborn baby. The baby was diagnosed with Trisomia, a rare genetic disease. The baby was not given a favorable prognosis. The baby was born, but was in very critical condition. Working in conjunction with a representative from the District Attorney’s office, we were able to identify community and religious resources to help with this family. Through this chain of caring individuals, a “Sub for Santa” drive was organized for this family. Our detective contacted a concerned Newscaster who ran a story about the family in order to gain further donations for this family. We were able to collect Christmas presents; food, money, and gift certificates that would help sustain this family not just through Christmas but also throughout the year. Unfortunately the baby girl died shortly after Christmas. The family was devastated. However, the mother said that she could not have been able to make it this far without the help, support and financial resources that our agency had provided. Although the pain and heartbreak this family faced will never truly disappear, some good was able to come from this tragedy. They were able to connect with the community around them and not feel so alone. Our agency was able to tap into wonderful community resources as well as raise the level of community consciousness concerning the devastating impact of violence on families. SITUATION NUMBER FOUR (rape recovery program) This Rape Recovery Program goal is to be a facilitator in the transitioning of the individual from the “victim” role to the “survivor” role then to a “winners” role as easily as possible. Nancy (not the clients real name) lives in another state where she was date raped. She began “acting out” drinking, smoking, using drugs, and skipping school. Through family members living in Weber County she learned about the Rape Recovery Center. She came to Utah to live with them and to receive help. She came in for individual support. We worked with her in strengthening her self esteem and increasing her feelings of self worth. She identified her individual strengths, and recognized the rape wasn’t her fault. She became aware that her “acting out” was her psychological response to the rape. Nancy’s family came in and received help in understanding the effects the rape had on her. They learned how they could be a support to Nancy. She was connected with programs that dealt with alcohol and drugs. She and her family went to AA meetings. Nancy was connected to activities in Weber County where she would meet with young people who have had similar values as she. She was connected with services that informed her of the possibilities for furthering her educational. She was connected with the medical professionals within the community who provided her with information regarding precautions regarding “safe sex” should she chose to have a sexual experience. Her secondary survivors were given information on services in the community that would help them understand, encourage and support Nancy in her healing progress. Nancy has returned to her home in another state. She is attending another school. Her confidence has returned. She has chosen a career and the family is supportive of her choice. She is choosing friends who encourage and are supportive of her. The Rape Recovery Center with the help of the financial support from the VOCA grant was able to help this young person begin living again.
E. ISSUES OR TRENDS IMPACTING CRIME VICTIM SERVICES: Emerging issues and notable trends impacting crime victim services in Utah are as follows: a. With the high number of crime victims from diverse ethnic backgrounds, victim assistance programs are developing programs to provide language specific and culturally sensitive services. b. The criminal justice system and non-profit and governmental victim assistance programs have seen a profound increase in the number of cases involving date rape drugs. The criminal justice system is not prepared to deal with such cases. Forensic testing for these drugs is expensive and law enforcement agencies do not have the funds for such testing. Law enforcement officers and prosecutors are not trained to investigate and prosecute cases where date rape drugs have been used on the victim. c. As people throughout rural Utah become aware that victim assistance programs are available, continual, steady growth is constantly expanding the client case- load of these programs. The use of volunteers is expanding the need for attendance at the State Victim Assistance Academy and standardized certification for both paid and volunteer staff. d. The traumatic effect of domestic violence on children is being recognized and is considered child abuse. e. Domestic violence shelters have had to expend or build new facilities. Shelters are also building and operating transitional housing programs. f. Increasing numbers of domestic violence crimes and homicides among intimate partners. g. Increasing numbers of crimes committed by juvenile offenders towards their parents and siblings. h. Increasing numbers of parents being abused by their adult children. i. Statewide SART/SANE program development. j. Agencies requesting funds to hire paid staff to provide 24-hour mobile team response in domestic violence and rape and sexual assault cases rather than relying on trained volunteers. k. Rural counties developing victim assistance programs.
F. USE OF VOCA ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDS: The State of Utah has used administrative funds for the following purposes: Conference/training for Victim Service Coordinator and Financial Grant Monitor, victim service brochures, subgrantee training materials and presenters, personnel, and equipment. A full-time Financial Grant Monitor has been hired with the use of VOCA and VAWA administrative funds. The Financial Grant Monitor has the VOCA grant application (RFP) on a computer program and thus the application is available on CVR’s web site and on disk. The VOCA grant application format has been revised to be more user friendly and comprehensive. All financial and program forms are available on CVR’s web site and on disk as well. Feedback from subgrantees has been very favorable. These changes have improved efficiency by taking less time to fill out and decreased the errors made by subgrantees.