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VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT VICTIM ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM 2002 COLORADO STATE WIDE ASSISTANCE REPORT Prepared By: Colorado Division of Criminal Justice 700 Kipling Street, Suite 1000 Denver, CO 80215-5885 tel: (303)239-4529
STATE FUNDING INFORMATION
A. THE ANNUAL AMOUNT ALLOCATED TO THE VICTIM ASSISTANCE PROJECTS: 1. Appropriations $ 398,082 2. Criminal Fines and Penalities $ 0 3. Assessments $ 84,202 4. Other $ 1,055,771 TOTAL:$ 1,538,055
B. TOTAL NUMBER OF AGENCIES FUNDED FROM THE FEDERAL GRANT: 147
C. NUMBER OF SUBGRANTS FUNDED FROM THIS FEDERAL GRANT: 278
VICTIM STATISTICS
A. THE NUMBER OF VICTIMS SERVED BY TYPE OF VICTIMIZATION:
NO. OF NO. OF VICTIMS SERVED VICTIMS SERVED 2,523 1. Child Physical Abuse 674 7. Adults Molested as Children 4,728 2. Child Sexual Abuse 774 8. Survivors of Homicide Victims 859 3. DUI/DWI Crashes 1,301 9. Robbery 38,187 4. Domestic Violence 4,908 10. Assualt 1,740 5. Adult Sexual Assault 10,309 11. Other 243 6. Elder Abuse TOTAL: 66,246
B. THE NUMBER OF VICTIMS WHO RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING SERVICES:
NO. OF VICTIMS SERVED 19,725 1. Crisis Counseling 28,529 2. Followup 2,408 3. Therapy 4,081 4. Group Treatment/Support 1,951 5. Shelter/Safehouse 20,211 6. Information/Referral (in-person) 26,329 7. Criminal Justice Support/Advocacy 1,924 8. Emergency Financial Assistance 5,259 9. Emergency Legal Advocacy 23,132 10. Assistance in filing Compensation Claims 18,485 11. Personal Advocacy 33,306 12. Telephone contact Informational/Referral 25,536 13. Other TOTAL: 210,876
A. EFFORTS TO PROMOTE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AID TO CRIME VICTIMS: Several of the VOCA subgrantees reported concentrated efforts to promote coordination between the public and private sector. Colorado has several strong statewide coalitions that assist in the coordination of victim services. Approximately 867 individuals attended the annual training sponsored by the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance (COVA) from public and private agencies. In addition, all applicants for VOCA funds continue to complete a “Letter of Coordination” to verify that they coordinate their efforts with their local Victim Compensation Administrator. The following are representative comments regarding coordination efforts: The implementation of a Fast Track Program in our county for misdemeanor level domestic violence offenders has brought to surface many gaps in coordination of services. Fast Track meetings occur monthly and are attended by representatives from County Probation, County Court, District Attorney’s Office, victims services agencies, perpetrator treatment agencies, Sheriff’s Departments and local Police Departments. The group is currently looking at implementation of inter-agency protocols to address difficulties in coordination. Territorialism among victim service agencies continues to be a negative factor. At times, it appears that some organizations are more interested in their agency rather than what is best for crime victims. The local Victims Assistance and Law Enforcement (VALE) Board is dealing with that issue currently. The hope is that a VALE Round Table discussion to be held next spring will help put some of those issues out on the table so that they can be dealt with appropriately. Our agency has working agreements with several sister agencies as well as having provided materials to agencies throughout the state illustrating that we will work with them on cases involving women with disabilities. Some agencies still fail to ask clients if they have a disability, thus missing an opportunity for our assistance. The Victim Rights Act (VRA) program in Colorado is often the “place of last resort” where a victim can call to get answers. The VRA program is called upon to provide leadership, answer questions, and serve as the state-wide repository for victim rights information. Likewise, the VRA program depends heavily on the efforts of non-public entities to provide services to victims. Often times the first call from staff with the VRA program is to a local victim advocate to provide a “lost” victim with immediate services. The efforts to promote a coordinated response are working well in Colorado. We are lucky to live in this community where everyone, it seems, is looking to better serve victims. Coordination of services is expected, with little or no turf issues. Examples are seen in the formation of communities such as the Domestic Violence Task Force, Sex Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Advisory Board, and the Justice Watch Project. People from all disciplines serve on the Child Protection Team, Adult Diversion Council, and now, the Community Crisis Response Team. Professionals donate training about victims’ issues, resources and criminal justice system. Advocates collaborate to provide training to new volunteer advocates and donate time to the COVA Conference Planning Committee. Our agency continues to play a central role in the Victim Services Network. Our staff manages the shared on-line information and referral directory (which is available to all VS2000 agencies on the Internet), and chairs the case management committee. Victim advocates in the community initiated a cell phone drive. Cell phones that are set up to only dial 911, donated by the public , are now available on loan/or are given to victims who feel threatened by an offender. Phones are available at the following agencies: law enforcement, District Attorney’s office, Probation and the local shelter in our area. Our Center has been responsible for facilitating a written protocol on the investigation, prosecution and treatment of child abuse. Although a continual work in progress, this piece is used as an initial learning tool for professionals new to the field. The entire basis of the protocol is putting the needs of child victims in the forefront of the system process. By having this protocol in place, as well as a continual review of issues, which arise in the community, we keep the system constantly aware of and responsive to victim issues. Victims Rights Week ceremonies are a public and private coordinated effort to promote public awareness and gain support to aid crime victims. Two separate events were organized for the year 2002 - a dedication ceremony and memorial service for victims and survivors. Two TV stations aired the event. In addition, newspaper articles were published in local papers and information on victim’s rights were aired on local radio and television stations.
B. EFFORTS TAKEN TO SERVE FEDERAL CRIME VICTIMS: A U.S. Forest Service Employee started the Hayman fire in Colorado. This Federal crime burned over 100,000 acres in the Pike National Forest and destroyed at least twenty-two homes. One death has been attributed to the fire. In addition, several subgrantees stated that they had served other federal crime victims: Our Victim/Witness Unit works closely with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the Navajo Nation to provide direct victim services for tribal members. We have assisted victims of violent crime involving assaults, sexual assaults and homicides committed on the Ute Mountain Reservation and coordinate a distribution of funds to assist victims through the Victims Compensation program. The program has also paid for relocation expenses, medical expenses, therapy, lost wages and emergency assistance. It has also been used to pay for Traditional Native American ceremonies, re-constructive surgery, and funeral expenses for federal crime victims and their families. Additionally, when DUI and vehicular crimes have occurred on reservation land, our agency provides assistance to the victims and help with the application for and use of Victims Compensation funds for burial expenses, traditional Native American cleansing ceremonies and other needs. During the Hayman Fires, our agency coordinated efforts with the American Red Cross to set up assistance for the victims. Advocates were coordinated to help staff the family centers and assist the property owners and displaced families needing assistance. There are three Air Force bases and one Army post located in the Colorado Springs area. We provide outreach to the professionals staffed at the family advocacy programs located on all these installations. Outreach includes training, education about community resources, and inclusion in development of community protocol. Our staff, trained in forensic interviewing, also assist in providing forensic interviewing technical assistance for CID and OSI agents. By reaching out to the military community, child crime victims and non-offending family members are served within and by our community. Our agency works closely with the BIA, FBI and tribal victims assistance coordinators regarding Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Indian child victims and their non-offending family members. Victim compensation forms are explained, filled out and submitted while families are at our agency for a forensic interview, medical exam or a therapy session. Victim’s rights brochures are given as well as an explanation of victim’s rights. Services are available to federal crime victims and in the past we did treat a victim who was assaulted on an Indian reservation. We have been involved with the District Attorney’s Office and local university in responding to the victims of the man arrested on federal Internet child pornography charges. We are available to treat any victims that have been victimized by having had their pictures traded or sold on the Internet. We provide all victim services to victims who reside on or are victimized on the Southern Ute reservation and throughout our county. We also coordinate services with the Southern Ute Victim Advocate to appropriately respond to tribal victims in order to meet their cultural needs. We also offer our services to Mesa Verde National Park. We have had the opportunity in reference to bank robberies as well as the Hayman fire which is a Federal and State crime issue. In bank robberies, we provided crisis intervention services, then transferred the victims to the FBI Victim Assistance program for follow-up. For the Hayman fire, we provided crisis intervention, on-going information and support, and referrals. We have provided services for an American Indian family and gathered information about jurisdictional aspects and reporting the child sexual abuse that they are dealing with. We also have been summoned by people needing to talk about their feelings resulting from the September 11th attacks. We offer outreach to victims of federal crimes such as bank robberies. We have formed a community crisis response team to assist with large-scale disaster, crime related or not. The current challenge for this community is to prepare for response to any acts of terrorism.
C. ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE DELIVERY OF VICTIM SERVICES: There have been efforts to continue statewide strategic planning in Colorado. In addition, several subgrantees report several activities that have improved the delivery of victim services in Colorado. Monthly, we have a Victim/Witness staff meeting. For each meeting, we ask a representative from another agency to come and speak with us about the services that the agency offers. For example, we recently had a speaker come talk to us about the services they can provide to victims who have housing issues. This was particularly helpful to our Victim/Witness Specialists who work with domestic violence victims. The housing issues of domestic violence victims can sometimes seem insurmountable. We learned that this agency can be a great resource and we have agreed to work on collaboration with that agency. We have put some new outreach efforts into effect with some of the local casinos and gotten more involved in helping them to understand the devastation of certain types of victimization and the need for support from their employers, and its benefits. Our agency has expanded training to include a broader range of speakers from the communities that we serve. We continue to build our relationships with key organizations servicing child victims. These strengthened relationships have improved the quality of our training, further helping our volunteers to advocate for child victims in our Judicial District. We also continue to focus on strengthening our presence in outlying counties. Case coordinators in the outlying counties meet regularly with representatives from the court system and human services to ensure that volunteers are able to serve all child victims in need. This year our agency has made attempts to identify populations in our community who are underserved, and then began targeted outreach efforts to provide sexual assault services and information to these individuals. Targeted populations include Native Americans, domestic violence victims, members of the gay and lesbian community, teens and college students. With re-focused outreach efforts, we saw increased usage on our hotline. Our advocates have recently begun working with the local hospital and a SANE nurse from Buena Vista in order to improve community response to victims of sexual assault. Because sexual assault exams are rarely done in our hospital, none of the staff there is trained in how to conduct the exam or in how to comport him/herself around a sexual assault victim. As a result, good evidence is not collected and victims may be further traumatized. Improved response to these crimes is a glaring need in our community, and we hope to have a SART team up and running by the middle of next year. Apart from the VOCA project, we are very involved in the betterment of victim services in Colorado and provide several training opportunities throughout the state, and are very involved in one of the largest state-wide conferences on victim rights and victim services in the nation (typically, this conference has over 1,000 attendees.) We have developed several manuals for agencies that provide services to victims, and staff has taught at the state-wide District Attorney’s conference, regional probation conferences and various law enforcement academies. A quarterly newsletter keeps victims and victim service providers up to date on funding deadlines, training opportunities, etc. Recently, we have contracted with AT&T to use their language line when persons with limited English proficiency call for assistance. In a collaborative effort with the Sheriff’s Office Victim Assistance Program, a training for volunteers interested in providing direct services to victims of crime is held yearly. The training includes education on victim’s rights, the criminal justice system, crisis intervention, sexual assault, domestic violence, trauma, hospice, victim compensation, communication and resources for victims. We continue to work closely with the three school districts in our area to present our “Violence Prevention - High School Peer Education” project. We train approximately 25 students each year about issues of date rape, dating violence, bullying and sexual harassment.
D. WAYS VOCA FUNDS HAVE BEEN USED TO ASSIST CRIME VICTIMS: As this report is being submitted electronically, these anecdotes have been reproduced. As before, all identifying information has been redacted. Case Scenario #1: This case involves an aggravated robbery and attempted sexual assault at a casino in our area. The victim worked for the casino. After a concerted effort, the defendant was arrested. On the day of occurrence, we responded and assisted the victim through the first trauma and dealing with her family. We have continued service since the inception of the case and it appears that the case will soon come to trial. The victim has received referrals and compensation benefits information but has not needed referrals and compensation benefits to this point. The casino has worked closely with us in making sure the victim was moved to a safe place and she continues to be an employee of the casino. Case Scenario #2: A young male victim was found shot to death in his car and his immediate family lived on the East Coast. This of course made it difficult for them to have a relationship with the detective, have their questions answered and feel a part of the investigation. The mother also suffered three significant losses during the past year, which compounded the trauma of losing her son to homicide. Our victim advocate was referred by the investigator and was able to help the mother access local resources and victim’s compensation funds for burial benefits and counseling. She has related that this assistance has been especially helpful to her and comforting. For example, a crime stoppers video was filmed in an effort to locate the perpetrator and our advocate was present during the filming and was able to notify the family of its release and follow-up. Case Scenario #3: Our agency recently supported families of five high school students. A coach of their summer sports team sexually abused several of the five students. The victim advocate assigned to the case kept in close contact with all of the families. The victims had a very difficult time at school after several students started rumors at school about the victims involved in the case. The victim advocate called the families several times a week and talked with the parents and the victims to check on them and give them progress updates on the case. Once the case had gone to trial, our agency provided two sessions of Court School for the victims. A victim advocate also accompanied the families to the trial to provide support and information. Many of the parents told us how helpful it was to have someone from the agency telling their children the different steps of the court system and the process that their particular case would go through. Case Scenario #4: The Victim/Witness staff has literally spent hours meeting with, and assisting families who have lost loved ones as a result of DUI related crashes. One such incident involved a DUI crash that happened on the Reservation and involved federal victims. Three people in one family were killed, a young mother, her husband and their baby. After several very difficult months, with the help of financial assistance in the form of payment of funeral expenses, lost wages and therapy, (which we strongly recommended), we have seen family members return to their jobs and start to resume their lives. Case Scenario #5: Our agency conducts intake sessions with victim families in order to gather information regarding the victimization and give support and information regarding how the system works, how to help their child, possible funding options, and our program of intervention. One such intake was held with the mother of a three-year old child. The child told her mother that her father was sexually abusing her while on visitation. The mother was distraught because the father reportedly took and passed a Polygraph and DHS told her they were closing the case. Also, with an unsubstantiated case, there would be no Victim’s Compensation and the mother had no other funds to pay for therapy for her child and herself. The Case Manager talked about the child’s credible disclosure with the caseworker, the caseworker’s supervisor as well as with a therapist who specialized in treating sex offenders and has experience in polygraphs. The caseworker then changed his determination on the case from “unsubstantiated” to “inconclusive.” The case currently remains open with DHS staying involved in order to investigate the allegations further. Supervised visits between the child and her father have been instituted. Case Scenario #6: One of our Advocates was summoned to the hospital to provide support and information for a 12-year-old girl who had been sexually assaulted. The girl’s custodial grandmother and six siblings were with her; all were traumatized by what had happened. Our Advocate provided crisis counseling, packets of information, VRA and Compensation information, and follow-up contacts for the family. Letter #1: I learned about your agency through a therapist at the safehouse. I no longer live at the safehouse but I have continued to attend the weekly victim’s support group. It helps talking to other women who are having the same types of problems that I am having. The group facilitator has taught us strategies about avoiding violent relationships in the future. I will continue to attend the group to learn how to deal with life with more responsibility and patience. Letter #2: I have been coming to support group for battered women for 2 1/2 years and am 4 years out of my violent relationship and continue to come to group for a few reasons. It helps me to not forget my experience with an abusive man. I also learn about things to look for in dating someone new that may lead to abuse. Group gives me an opportunity to support other women still trapped in abuse as well as receive validation for the abuse I went through. More than anything, this group has helped me gain self-esteem, confidence and a sense of care for myself. I am most grateful for the therapist’s insights and support, as I have learned so much. Letter #3: I was so relieved to find that someone other than some deputies, took my situation seriously, provided info, moral support. Having someone there who understands the seriousness of my situation is very helpful. Explaining how Victim’s Comp fund could cover my medical bill from assault and that I didn’t have to wait was critical help due to my financial situation. Thank you! Letter #4: An 8 year old child victim writes. I don’t know where my mom is. I lived with my dad and he told me he loved me very much. But then he did things to me that really hurt so I told my teacher about it. Then some other people came and talked to me and made me go live at a stranger’s house. I remembered my Aunt and my cousins who came to visit when I was little. I wondered where they were and why I couldn’t just live with them. I wished that someone could tell my Aunt that I need her. My CASA Advocate found my Aunt for me and I get to go live with her now. I am not as scared now and feel better.
E. ISSUES OR TRENDS IMPACTING CRIME VICTIM SERVICES: Colorado continues to grow placing a high demand on victim service providers. Subgrantees report several emerging issues, many which are a direct result of that growth, and many of which are still directly related to the September 11, 2001 tragedy. Since September 11, 2001, we have seen an increase in domestic violence among the international students at the local university. Four victims who are American and are married to Middle Eastern persons have told us that news reports about the events on September 11th seem to incite their partners into violence. Methamphetamine use by domestic violence offenders seems to continually be increasing. To better educate ourselves about how methamphetamine abuse affects the user, a member of the local Drug Task Force came to a Victim/Witness staff meeting for a presentation. Since then, we have all commented about being much more aware of methamphetamine use in our cases and the fact that it certainly does contribute to an atmosphere of paranoia and violence. Date rape drugs are becoming more apparent out in the rural areas as well. There is no doubt that the present State Budget Crisis is a real concern for prevention and intervention programs serving youth from high risk families. As we know that problems such as child abuse, substance abuse, poverty, domestic violence are all inter-related, when prevention and diversion funds are cut, one can anticipate increases in child abuse and delinquency. There are some discussions about training standards, possibly certification, of victim advocates that is beginning. Colorado has a mature victim service profession, but with turnover and the special challenges of rural geography, there are some gaps in training that need to be addressed. Advocates are hearing an increasing number of victims reporting that their batterers are not being arrested even in cases where there are visible injuries to the victim, or where there is probable cause that a crime has been committed. These clients express distrust for the police departments that have responded to these domestic violence calls. This feeling of distrust tends to spill over to other systems, such as the court system or the probation system. This is a disturbing trend, and our agency has already attempted to communicate with system personnel about these reports. The growing diversity of our community continues to be a major issue when providing services. Providing services and assistance to mono-lingual Spanish speaking victims and other ethnic groups that do not have a command of the English language takes much more time and resources than an English-speaking victim. In order to assist them properly, we would need to employ many more multi-lingual advocates and translate all materials into numerous languages and unfortunately we do not have the budget to do so. As the economy weakens, budgets are cut and unemployment grows, the outlook for these growing numbers of under-represented and underserved victims is bleak. The state of the economy seems to also be having a great effect on crime victim services. Many agencies are dealing with large budget cut backs and funding problems. We have especially seen this as we try to assist our clients in obtaining pro bono legal services. The children in our community have recently been enduring more severe physical and sexual abuse; they are being exposed to domestic violence more often; and most of these children are living in homes where multiple risk factors exist. This rise in safety concerns for children is occurring during a time when many families in our community are experiencing economic hardships. At the same time, the governmental agencies and systems that are designed to deal with these issues are being asked to make cuts in their budgets. Thus we have a rise in demand while systems are being stretched to their limits. Our agency has noticed a trend in the increase of child sexual assault with very young children ages seven and under for the past couple of years. Staff has continued to seek and receive additional training to better serve these populations. This includes additional training in family therapy and parent-child therapies. Our agency has had to add another play therapy room to provide for the increased demand for services. Medicaid payments to providers have been reduced which will result in fewer treatment options for victims. Medicaid is also cutting services to victims sooner. There seems to be a decreasing amount of affordable child care in many areas of the state. Many large daycare facilities or job provided centers are closing and the lack of child care will indeed impact crime victims and their ability to remain employed in their jobs. The most notable issue impacting crime victim services in our community is the budget crisis hitting the Department of Human Services and other county agencies. DHS has had to lay off caseworkers and consolidate units, which impacts their ability to investigate and follow up on cases. Budget cuts at DHS also impact the dollars available for Core Services which many families need in order to access appropriate services. This also impacts the quality of investigations and hinders the identification of victims. Budget cuts in support services for victims, like food, housing and health care impacts the overall functioning of families where abuse occurs and the added stress puts children at greater risk. It appears that with the increase in training and education occurring throughout the state, knowledge and awareness of victim rights is increasing for both victims and victim service providers. Additionally, historical gaps in post-sentencing services and post-sentencing notification seem to be decreasing. Victims are increasingly receiving notification regarding the release of an offender from a secure facility, and being encouraged by DOC to attend parole and community corrections board hearings. The Division of Youth Corrections, together with local jails around the state are beginning to utilize the VOICE system, making notification automatic and efficient. A significant concern that continues to impact crime victims in Boulder County is the increased rate of female arrests (approximately 20-25% of total arrests). In many of these cases the female victim is arrested for “fighting back” or because of an inappropriate interpretation of the “predominant aggressor” law. We are working with the DA’s Office and law enforcement departments in our area to address this issue. One of the most important emerging issues our community is facing is responding to and serving victims of large-scale community/mass disasters. We have faced 2 large local tragedies and shared concern over September 11th events and there is a continued effort to organize a multi-disciplinary approach to responding to victims needs during these times. Following the changes in the statute of limitations in 2002, we are becoming more involved in efforts to provide legal advocacy to victims of childhood sexual abuse. Collaboration with the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA) has provided us with the opportunity to explore these issues. Affordable and available housing for battered women is a problem. We also are serving women who have a lot of medical and mental health issues in addition to the domestic violence. Our agency is also seeing increased severity of trauma in our clients. This has necessitated an increased attention to individual clients and an increased time for therapy. One emerging issue is a new court philosophy of requiring child victims to testify at restraining order hearing when a parent seeks that RO on behalf of the children. The current economic down-slide is also impacting service provision for crime victims, especially children and families. The overall reduction of funding has created difficulties for many service providers. Our agency has many more clients than we are able to serve and we have been informed that the VALE grant will be less than its current amount in 2003 and are very concerned. More trainings are continually being brought to the communities of the 5th Judicial District specifically for the police agencies in the areas of domestic violence and child abuse issues. Police reports continue to show evidence of more through investigations of these types of cases. This may be a direct result of these trainings. Our agency will continue making a effort to be a part of the training efforts. This year we have seen an increase in victims and perpetrators claiming to have mental health disorders, mostly diagnosed with bi-polar personality disorder. It is unknown if this diagnosis has been provided professionally or are self-diagnosed. Many victims are requesting prosecution include a mental health evaluation to be conducted with their batterer as part of sentencing. We are unaware of the results of this evaluation, but we fear that victims are excusing abuse because of either their disorder or their perpetrators. The September 11th anniversary has revived the following issues for Muslim victims and their community as a whole: 1) A feeling of fear to be subjected to hate crime especially for the ones that have a Muslim name and the ones that practice their faith in a more visible way, for example the head scarf for women and the beard for the men. 2) Some crime victims lost jobs at airports and other places where INS targeted security and safety of those institutions. 3) Change of Immigration laws and its link to criminal law had a big impact on the crime victim. Offenders being subjected to facing criminal charges will automatically answer to the INS proceeding if he is not an U.S. citizen and is in the process of applying for citizenship or in the process of applying for a green card. There does appear to be a gap in services to crime victims with mental health issues. Since law enforcement sometimes struggles with the credibility of reporting victims who have mental health difficulties, the range of services available to these victims is limited while the challenges facing them can be enormous. It is difficult to determine the facts of a case and sometimes impossible to coordinate efforts between the mental health system and the criminal justice system in providing services to these victims. Our main concern would be the number of Juvenile crimes committed here on the reservation and victims who are left helpless wishing for a meaningful explanation of crimes committed upon them. Alcohol has been our main priority here on the reservation and the total amount of drop outs are the ones committing these crimes. Domestic Violence cases have also been of concern and the majority of our cases have been closed with convictions with hopes that the 36 week treatment program for offenders may work. One of the most notable issues within our community is the influx of undocumented workers from Mexico. We are facing a great challenge in addressing their needs as a victim of crime (which is not reported) and are experiencing a significant increase in these illegal immigrant women seeking services, who do not qualify for VAWA protections. These women are being abused by family members who are also illegal immigrants. In addition, we are receiving many crisis calls from women who are afraid to come into shelter because of the fear of deportation. In our area we are seeing a stronger emphasis on Public Safety due to the September 11th tragedy and are also seeing that victims are more aware of their rights and want to be active in the criminal proceedings. At this time the only issues impacting crime victim services in our community would be the increase in the non-English speaking population. This trend has been on the increase for some time now and the Victim Assistance Program is working with other resources in an effort to provide victim rights and compensation information in Spanish and provide interpreters when needed. The Victim Assistance Program provides and interpreter during immediate crisis intervention and any follow-up with the victim. The lack of affordable housing in our community still has a tremendous impact on our clients. We can anticipate with the down turn in the economy and the increase in unemployment that domestic violence incidents may rise.
F. USE OF VOCA ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDS: The VOCA administrative dollars for the federal year 2002 VA were used to pay for eight staff members who provide financial, programmatic and administrative support for the Colorado VOCA assistance grant program. These positions work as a team with the other assigned personnel to assist in technical assistance, grants management, monitoring, grants application review, and Advisory Board support during funding recommendation meetings and throughout the year. The administrative dollars have been used in the following areas: PERSONNEL COSTS: .37 FTE for Planning Grants Specialist I - programmatic compliance review of and technical assistance to VOCA subgrantees and support to the Advisory Board in the funding process are provided by this position. .23 FTE for Planning Grants Specialist IV - program monitoring and assistance with the grants process are provided by this position. .25 FTE for Planning Grants Specialist IV – day-to-day grants management for 146 VOCA subgrantees and monitoring and assistance with the grants process are provided by this position. .51 FTE for Budgeting Accounting Program Specialist I - financial compliance review, and technical assistance to VOCA subgrantees and support to the Advisory Board during the funding process are provided by this position. .24 FTE for General Professional VI- Manager of the Office for Victims- Overall supervision of Colorado VOCA funding implementation and process .08 FTE for Budget Accounting Specialist IV- financial oversight of federal and state VOCA grant management. .70 FTE for Planning Grants Specialist V -VOCA Administrator for Colorado -Planning and overall management of the VOCA process, training and site visits, and supervision of the VOCA staff. .23 FTE for Administrative Assistant III - Clerical assistance for the VOCA grants management and the funding process is provided by this position. .36 FTE for indirect administrative oversight and general administrative support from the Division of Criminal Justice. OPERATING COSTS: Advisory Board meetings, grant announcements, applications forms, Administrative Guides, reporting forms for subgrantees, and routine grant management correspondence are the major printing costs for the VOCA process in Colorado. New computers, postage, phone, furniture and space are also operational costs charged to the VOCA administrative funds for utilization by assigned VOCA staff. TRAVEL: This year travel costs were incurred for staff to complete fifty VOCA subgrantee monitoring site visits throughout Colorado and two regional Advisory Board meetings held in Grand Junction and Pueblo. Additionally staff attended numerous out of Denver trainings to improve their skills. The VOCA Administrator attended the joint compensation/ assistance conference in Washington in January 2002. OVERALL IMPACT OF VOCA ADMINISTRATIVE DOLLARS: In Winter/Spring 2002, staff, due to last year’s long range planning that moved all 147 projects to a two-year cycle, were able to develop an improved subgrantee monitoring plan. This plan allowed for up-front review of financial compliance with onsite follow up on any identified financial issues and a strong focus on the programmatic VOCA compliance. The overall plan led to the completion of on-site visits to one third of the 146 VOCA subgrantees, which resulted in 50+ visits completed. In 2002, VOCA program specialists focused on structured technical assistance to all subgrantees on their program reporting: correctly counting victims and services, goals and objectives, and overall accountability for contracted services. Staff was able to develop a statewide training plan that for the first time that supports statewide and regional trainings on the sexual and physical abuse of children, domestic violence and sexual assault victims, and the training of judicial personnel regarding victims’ issues. Staff has participated in ongoing statewide planning to address gaps in services and funding coordination.