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VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT VICTIM ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM 2002 TENNESSEE STATE WIDE ASSISTANCE REPORT Prepared By: Tennessee Department of Finance & Administration 312 Eight Avenue North Suite 1200 Nashville, TN 37243-1700 tel: (615)532-3355
STATE FUNDING INFORMATION
A. THE ANNUAL AMOUNT ALLOCATED TO THE VICTIM ASSISTANCE PROJECTS: 1. Appropriations $ 578,500 2. Criminal Fines and Penalities $ 0 3. Assessments $ 294,700 4. Other $ 0 TOTAL:$ 873,200
B. TOTAL NUMBER OF AGENCIES FUNDED FROM THE FEDERAL GRANT: 90
C. NUMBER OF SUBGRANTS FUNDED FROM THIS FEDERAL GRANT: 108
VICTIM STATISTICS
A. THE NUMBER OF VICTIMS SERVED BY TYPE OF VICTIMIZATION:
NO. OF NO. OF VICTIMS SERVED VICTIMS SERVED 5,835 1. Child Physical Abuse 1,130 7. Adults Molested as Children 4,232 2. Child Sexual Abuse 1,408 8. Survivors of Homicide Victims 428 3. DUI/DWI Crashes 634 9. Robbery 49,498 4. Domestic Violence 1,841 10. Assualt 2,741 5. Adult Sexual Assault 3,652 11. Other 488 6. Elder Abuse TOTAL: 71,887
B. THE NUMBER OF VICTIMS WHO RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING SERVICES:
NO. OF VICTIMS SERVED 38,370 1. Crisis Counseling 19,073 2. Followup 5,423 3. Therapy 10,252 4. Group Treatment/Support 5,872 5. Shelter/Safehouse 37,600 6. Information/Referral (in-person) 27,839 7. Criminal Justice Support/Advocacy 3,864 8. Emergency Financial Assistance 6,007 9. Emergency Legal Advocacy 6,100 10. Assistance in filing Compensation Claims 22,787 11. Personal Advocacy 54,734 12. Telephone contact Informational/Referral 6,985 13. Other TOTAL: 244,906
A. EFFORTS TO PROMOTE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AID TO CRIME VICTIMS: In an effort to provide a more effective, efficient grants administration program for victims in Tennessee, in July, 1998, the Department of Finance & Administration, Office of Criminal Justice Programs assumed responsibility for administering the VOCA victim assistance funds and the Health and Human Services Family Violence Grant and state family violence grant moneys in Tennessee. OCJP serves as the State Administrative Agency for the Department of Justice as well as the central office for grants administration and management for most grants made available in the state and local criminal justice arena. In this capacity, OCJP has provided a coordinated approach to the planning and allocation of federal and state funds addressing the problem of crimes perpetrated on victims. This transition has provided a means of eliminating duplication of efforts and ensuring coordinated, strategic planning for victim services programs in Tennessee. Without such coordination, we risk using scarce resources inefficiently and ineffectively. The VOCA victim assistance funds are being used in conjunction with other grants to maximize services to victims and meet needs in underserved areas or with underserved populations. OCJP continues to closely monitor the types of services available to crime victims and the distribution of programs across the state. This information is essential as OCJP determines underserved areas in the state, overlapping service programs, and areas in the state where development of private efforts would be most helpful for existing communities. We recognize that it is critical that careful and thoughtful planning be encouraged in both the public and private sectors in order to provide a comprehensive approach to funding and development of resources for all areas if the state. As part of the most recent state VOCA application process, subrecipients were encouraged to collaborate with other agencies to achieve improved response for victims of crime. Subrecipients were asked to describe how they were collaborating with other agencies in their communities to achieve their program goals. Subrecipients were required, as part of their application, to attach letters of agreement from at least two of the identified agencies describing and agreeing to be part of a coordinated, collaborative response. This focus on coordination and collaboration will continue to be a requirement of all future funding.
B. EFFORTS TAKEN TO SERVE FEDERAL CRIME VICTIMS: The Office of Criminal Justice Programs is committed to providing services to federal crime victims and communicates with the three Victim Witness Coordinators in the U.S. Attorney’s Offices to make them aware of currently funded VOCA programs and the services they provide. We solicit their input about the special needs of these crime victims in an effort to ensure that appropriate services are made available for victims of federal crimes. Three years ago, the Office of Criminal Justice Programs conducted a broad-based assessment of the needs of crime victims in Tennessee. An Ad hoc Committee was assembled from victim service professionals from across the state. Representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office were part of this committee. Recommendations of the committee also reflected the needs of federal crime victims. Future funding will target identified areas of need as we strive to assure that victims of federal crimes have access to necessary services. The Office of Criminal Justice Programs works cooperatively with the Victim Witness Coordinators from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference as part of a Conference Planning Committee for an annual statewide Victim Service Conference. Issues relevant to federal crime victims are included in the programming.
C. ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE DELIVERY OF VICTIM SERVICES: In 2000, the Office of Criminal Justice Programs pursued a different strategy to update and supplement our understanding of the needs of crime victims in Tennessee. An ad hoc Committee was assembled from victim service professionals from across the state. The assignment was to gather input for managing the increase in Tennessee’s FY 2000 Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Grant award. The recommendations the committee made were focused broadly on the needs and gaps experienced by victims of many crimes, including domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault and under-served populations. The committee then ranked the funding opportunities for their importance (high, moderate and low) in an array of services for targeted groups of victims, i.e., victims of domestic violence, victims of child abuse, victims of sexual assault, and underserved populations. The results of the ranking exercise were as follows, in priority order for each victim group: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Special Victim Units for Sexual Assault, DV and Child Abuse Training and Continuing Ed Access to Effective and Accountable Orders of Protection Victim-Witness Coordination and Assistance Shelters, Residential Care and Longer-term Housing 6 Civil Legal Assistance 7. School-Based Victim Services Programs 8. Transportation CHILD ABUSE Child Advocacy Centers Victim-Witness Coordination and Assistance Special Victim Units for Sexual Assault, DV and Child Abuse School-Based Victim Services Programs Training and Continuing Ed. 6. Crisis Information & Referral Hotlines 7. Comprehensive Victim Service Centers 8. Multidisciplinary Teams SEXUAL ASSAULT Special Victim Units for Sexual Assault, DV and Child Abuse Rape Crisis Centers Victim-Witness Coordination and Assistance Training and Continuing Ed School-Based Victim Services Programs 6. Rape Treatment Centers 7. Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Crisis Information & Referral Hotlines UNDER-SERVED POPULATIONS 1. Special Victim Units for Sexual Assault, DV and Child Abuse 2. Victim-Witness Coordination and Assistance 3. Training and Continuing Ed 4. Shelters, Residential Care and Longer-term Housing 5. Rape Crisis Centers 6. Specialized Services for Other Special populations 7. Comprehensive Victim Services Centers 8. Civil Legal Assistance VOCA funding was utilized and will continue to be utilized to provide new services in many of these identified areas. In addition, we will regularly seek needs information from our subrecipients, as part of their output and outcome reporting requirements. The Office of Criminal Justice Programs is committed to promoting program evaluation among VOCA sub-recipients to continue to improve Tennessee's system of services for victims of crime. Performance evaluation is an important component to OCJP as we strive to utilize VOCA funding to assist victims. Over the past four years, we have contracted with Performance Vistas, Inc., a non-profit consulting firm, to assist OCJP and VOCA sub-recipients in enhancing their management capability and self-improvement capacities of VOCA programs. Since 1999, the Office of Criminal Justice Programs and PVI have provided a series of technical assistance sessions for VOCA subrecipients designed to build internal evaluation capacity. We have come a long way in enabling subrecipient agencies to clearly define their programs tying purpose, activities, outputs and outcomes together in a logical fashion to describe the intended results of their activities for the clients they serve. Working together with our subrecipients around performance management has provided us with the opportunity to equip them with the tools they need to manage their programs, improve their work processes and to demonstrate their accountability. Performance management has benefited OCJP by allowing us to focus on the outcomes programs have achieved, which has been encouraged by the Office for Victims of Crime. In addition, performance management will further assist OCJP in making funding decisions. As responsible stewards of limited federal grant dollars we will continue to do our best to assure that grants are awarded to agencies that can demonstrate that they make a difference for clients. We want clients safer, more informed, aware of their alternatives and exercising better judgment. We need solid information about how well our clients are doing in order to continue improving the quality of our programs. OCJP and Performance Vistas are continuing to work with sub-recipients to collect and utilize program outcome data. We have developed models of uniform measures of similar outcomes that can be expected across like-programs. We are currently collecting outcome data based on Core Outcome Indicators and Measures for the following program types: Legal Service Agencies Comprehensive Victim Services Agencies Victim/Witness Coordinators/Advocacy Agencies Sexual Assault Agencies Domestic Violence Shelter Programs Law Enforcement Domestic Violence Units Child Advocacy Programs Programs for Elders and Disabled Adults Analyses of the most current outcome reports indicate there has been a large increase in the number of victims and other respondents represented. In addition, the favorability ratings for individual outcomes ranged from a high of 98% to a low of 60% for the victim service project types funded. For most project types the lowest favorable rating for any one outcome indicator was no less than 80%. This is data that has been unavailable to us in the past and is valuable to subrecipient agencies in managing and improving their programs as well as to OCJP and the federal granting agency. In addition, the Office of Criminal Justice Programs currently contracts with the Office of Program Accountability Review, within the Department of Finance & Administration, to provide routine, annual program and fiscal monitoring of all VOCA contracts. This “centralized monitoring” provides program and fiscal contract compliance review, much needed information on how the program is actually being implemented, and assistance to the OCJP Grants Program Manager in identifying sub-recipients experiencing problems requiring corrective action.
D. WAYS VOCA FUNDS HAVE BEEN USED TO ASSIST CRIME VICTIMS: Case History #1 - Domestic Violence Anna came to Safe Haven the first time accompanied by her sister-in-law (who had been a former client). She was an extremely shy introverted person who had a hard time looking you in the eyes. It was evident the years of control and violence had diminished any self-confidence she may have one time had as she looked to her sister-in-law to make all decisions. Under the guidance of her friend and a crisis advocate she and her seven-year old son came into our shelter where the long road to freedom began. Having been married to a mentally as well as physically abusive alcoholic for twenty years, the pattern was extremely hard to break! However as Anna began to get comfortable we watched as she began to blossom into a socially active person and yes, even to smile. How do we measure success in Anna’s life? In the months to come Eric was transported to school each day and Anna began to focus on her future. With the aid of Safe Haven, Anna filed for an order of protection. Her next step was DHS where she received assistance, followed by adult education where she completed her schooling and received her GED. Anna was referred to Legal Aid for her divorce intake and awaits her final hearing soon. Our weekly counseling group and shelter staff were very supportive and assisted greatly in helping Anna in learning to make decisions and acquire social skills. Anna’s success story was achieved with the collaboration of many agencies and the encouragement and strength she has received through people. Today she lives in her own apartment, is employed full time and living an independent free spirited and happy life, free from violence! Our first meeting with Heather was an entirely different situation. She was the epitomy of independence and appeared to have her life in perfect order. She was attractive, smartly dressed, employed as an administrative assistant, and owned her own home and car. First appearance would never reveal Heather to be a victim of domestic abuse. However, those with understanding know that abuse is not a respecter of peoples, monetary issues, attributes or employment. No one is exempt from the pitfalls of domestic violence. Unfortunately, Heather was ending her second abusive relationship when we met with her. She had suffered much from the hands of her abusers. She had gone to work with blackened eyes, a broken jaw, clumps of her hair yanked out so badly she had to wear a wig for months and would be awakened in the night with a gun held to her head with the threat of death. Each beating would be followed by a dozen long stemmed roses, delivered to her workplace. She grew to hate roses! With the assistance and encouragement of Safe Haven staff, Heather was able to free herself of this abusive lifestyle in a much shorter time than Anna. On a return visit she was glowing! She couldn’t say enough about what life is like living without abuse. She had a story to tell! A friend came one day to visit and held behind his back a surprise. He had picked a single rose from his garden and placed it in an empty shampoo bottle just for her. A rose to be treasured because it represented love, not abuse. She knew freedom and trust had returned! Case History #2 - Child Abuse RJ is a vibrant, funny, seven-year-old girl who loves to act and entertain anyone who is willing to pull up a chair and watch. RJ loves to put on puppet shows, sing, dance, and paint brightly colored pictures of rainbows. This is the RJ who will soon be terminating therapy. This is not the RJ who first came to the center in 1998. At age four, RJ was brought to the center after it was discovered that her paternal grandmother’s boyfriend had repeatedly sexually abused her. RJ, like many victimized children, never told anyone about what was happening to her at her grandmother’s house. Her abuser told RJ that she would be hurt if she told anyone. She believed him. He had shown her that he could and would hurt her. RJ endured her secret torment for over a year. Her abuser was not discovered until she began to unknowingly send out messages for help. RJ began to act out sexually with the family puppy and other children that would visit the home. Out of concern and a gnawing instinct that something was wrong, RJ’s mother sought help. This is RJ’s abuse and recovery story. RJ’s abuser would wait until RJ’s grandmother had left the home to run errands and the invite RJ to play the “game”. Her abuser would take her into the other room, lift her onto the washing machine, grab her by her feet, and turn her over onto her back. Her abuser would then anally assault her, while holding her down by placing his hands on her back. The abuser would also volunteer to give RJ her bath and then would digitally penetrate her while pretending to bathe her. If RJ in any way resisted playing “the game” or cried, her abuser would punish her by removing her clothing and placing her into an empty bathtub with several small puppies. The abuser would then walk away and close the door, leaving RJ alone in the bathtub with puppies clawing and scratching her in an attempt to escape their confinement. Too small to climb out of the bathtub on her own, RJ would scream and cry and beg her abuser to let her out. RJ does not like puppies now nor will she stay in a bathroom alone with the door closed. During one incident of playing “the game,” RJ’s grandmother returned home and began looking for her, calling her name loudly. RJ called back, “Grandmother, I am here. I can’t come because “Butch” has me.” The game was over but not the secret. RJ remembers her grandmother picking up a kitchen chair and hitting the abuser in the head. RJ saw blood running down his face and dripping onto the floor. The grandmother then looked at RJ and said, “What happens in my house stays in my house.” It did for a while. RJ has struggled with the aftereffects of her sexual abuse. Her symptoms post assault have included wetting herself, sexual acting out, excessive masturbation, anger outbursts, somatic complaints of stomachaches and pain in her vaginal area, an inability to tolerate being alone, nightmares, use of explicit and sexual language, and flashbacks to her abuse that she describes as feeling like someone is touching her. RJ would routinely refer to herself as a “freak” and apologize for being “weird.” RJ has not been able to stay an entire day in school without a visit to the nurse’s office and a call home to her mother. RJ continues to work on her healing and will carry the scars of her experience her entire life. RJ is a survivor, though. She has worked hard in therapy and is now able to completely control her sexual behavior in regards to others. RJ’s nightmares of the abuse have ceased and she will occasionally even sleep an entire night without waking and getting into bed with her mother or brother. She is proud of this achievement. RJ’s anger outbursts are fewer now as well and she no longer complains of feeling like someone is touching her. RJ can verbalize and is happy to tell you how she feels about her abuse, her abuser, and her hoped for punishment for the man that hurt her. RJ must fantasize about justice because the abuse could not be substantiated and her abuser was never punished. Recently, RJ drew a picture of her version of the abuse and her abuser and then asked if she could destroy the picture. When asked in what manner she would like to destroy it, she stated that she wanted to burn it so that the ashes would float up to heaven and God could see and know what Butch had done to her. RJ burned her picture and danced around the small fire with a big smile on her face. RJ continues to cling closely to her mother and does not like to be left alone for long but she is well on her way and will step out on her own when she is ready to let go. RJ no longer refers to herself as a “freak.” Case History #3 – Sexual Assault Tom is a 57 year-old white, male. He is an adult survivor of child sexual abuse. At age 4, he was anally raped numerous times by his biological father. The abuse occurred while Tom’s mom was out of the home working. Tom’s father was an alcoholic and would often spend his mornings drinking whiskey before sexually abusing Tom. At age 6, Tom was hospitalized for two years for surgery, recovery and rehabilitation of a chronic leg disease. While in the hospital, Tom was anally and orally raped by two teenage boys. Tom can recall over 200 incidents of this abuse, which occurred while he was helpless and defenseless in his bed. Tom called the Rape and Sexual Abuse Center last fall after he read about a local case involving a priest molesting children. The case triggered many emotions for Tom. For one, Tom is Catholic. Two, he had spent many years trying to talk to a priest, any priest about his abuse. But after hearing things like, “ We don’t talk about those things here” or “I don’t want to hear that,” Tom gave up and tried to put his abuse behind him. At the beginning of therapy, Tom presented with numerous symptoms, including anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, dissociation, and sexualized behaviors. He had clinical issues surrounding shame, guilt, powerlessness and betrayal. Early sessions consisted of Tom crying and telling graphic deteails of his abuse. Tom was consistent in his therapy and never missed a session. He continued to recount the events in detail. He began to process his thoughts and feelings surrounding the abuse. He learned to identify and verbalize various emotions of anger, sadness and anxiety. He was able to control; irrational and faulty thinking that had occurred due to the abuse. He no longer sees himself as responsible for any part of the abuse. Six months into therapy, Tom joined a RSAC group for male adult survivors of sexual abuse. Tom quickly had the opportunity to share his story with other men. He learned that he was not alone in this world and that other males had very similar histories and issues. In group, Tom learned more about the dynamics of sexual abuse. He gained a sense of hope, while new relationships were born. Tom has been in therapy for 15 months now. He is still in the process of healing. He is sleeping better at night, and getting out of the house more during the day. He can now tell his story of abuse without crying and breaking down. He still needs to grieve the loss of his childhood, of betrayed relationships, and of hopes and promises that were shattered by his abuse. But, Tom will make it. He is a survivor. Case History #4 - Previously Underserved The Embrace Program was implemented to increase outreach, access and upgrade the quality of services to underserved populations. Our primary focus throughout the grant period has been immigrant women. We targeted this population because of the drastic population increase in our service area. The majority of these women are of Latin descent, however we have assisted other nationalities such as; Bosnian, Vietnamese, Congan, Sudanese, Iraqi, and Japanese. While overwhelming barriers to services, such as; acculturation, male/female family roles, cultural norms and traditions, and immigration hinder these women from seeking services, the language barrier seems to be the most problematic. Most of the women that we have worked with have either not spoken any English at all or had Limited English Proficiency. We used this issue as a starting point. Since the two Embrace staff people are bilingual – Spanish/English, and bicultural – of Latin descent, we thought we were quite prepared. Unfortunately our Spanish skills were of no value when our first client was Bosnian. Since access to and quality services were our primary goals, a translator was contracted for all services including court interpretation. This particular woman has since received an Order of Protection, has an excellent job with benefits, filed her immigrant adjustment of status and is in the process of petitioning for a divorce with the assistance of Legal Aid of Middle Tennessee. The Embrace Program staff has assisted her along the way with emotional and advocacy support. While the emotional support provided to our clients has been essential, the advocacy part has been quite challenging. Even though all federally funded programs must provide interpreters for Limited English Persons, very few use them. Cost and lack of training seems to be at the core of noncompliance, therefore we have informally trained clients and personnel at various agencies of the rights of these women and the agencies responsibilities. This problem has improved slightly but still needs substantial help, especially the court systems. In order to reach out to the Latin population Embrace developed a Spanish domestic violence brochure specific to the concerns of these women. We also developed an English language informational brochure describing the Embrace Program for agency referrals. Both brochures are printed and disseminated at strategic locations that have high populations of immigrants, seeking services. Some of these places are Health Departments, Social Services, Police Stations, Sheriff’s Departments, check cashing companies, community events as well as many others. Many of our clients were referred to or sought our services because of these brochures. We conduct presentations at churches with Latino congregations and pass information by word of mouth. All shelter and service intakes are done in the client’s native tongue. An interpreter is used for any language other than Spanish. Embrace staff translated the entire HomeSafe intake packet into Spanish and these are used for Spanish speaking women. Women seeking services are provide with culturally specific food, clothing and other items as needed and/or requested. Part of the intake process, ongoing counseling and advocacy is to learn the client’s traditions, norms and values. By doing this we are better able to meet their needs and make them feel comfortable. Many new clients were referred by previous and/or clients because of the trust that has been developed within that sector of the community. Immigration status is also a big concern for the women seeking services. The Embrace staff are learning as much about immigration rights and VAWA provisions for immigrant women as they can. Each woman we work with understands that we are not lawyers and that they have the right to seek legal representation, yet we are still able to pass along basic information. The fact that our agency as well as many others must provide services regardless of immigration status, opens up a lot more opportunity for these women to live violence free and strive for independence. While language, immigration and cultural barriers have been lowered, there is still so much more to be done. Unfortunately, for most agencies, lack of funding for these specific services is inevitable. Due to the lack of volunteers from the community willing to translate, immigration attorneys willing to do pro-bono, cultural competency training throughout agencies, the struggle will be all uphill. While there are major issues surrounding this effort, Embrace has come a long way and is seeing positive results through the growing numbers of immigrant women seeking services and the self-sufficiency of the women we have worked with. They are working together to say “No More Violence”!
E. ISSUES OR TRENDS IMPACTING CRIME VICTIM SERVICES: Over the last several years, the most notable issue in Tennessee was the legislative passage of the “Victim's Bill of Rights”, in November 1998, which preserves and protects the rights of crime victims. Under the bill, victims are entitled to the following rights: The right to confer with the prosecutor. The right to be free from intimidation, harassment and abuse throughout the criminal justice system. The right to be present at all proceedings where the defendant has the right to be present. The right to be heard, when relevant, at all critical stages of the criminal justice process as defined by the General Assembly. The right to be informed of all proceedings, and of the release, transfer, or escape of the accused or convicted person. The right to a speedy trial or disposition and a prompt and final conclusion of the case after the conviction or sentence. The right to restitution from the offender. The right to be informed of each of the rights established for victims. Further clarifying legislation was enacted in 2000 which added clarifying language and more fully defined the terms of “victim”, “crime” and “critical stages of the criminal justice process.” Tennessee is in the process of exploring full implementation of this Bill of Rights including victim notification systems and the most appropriate program response to this legislation from our office. Another emerging issue is the changing composition of Tennessee's population. According to Census 2000 population data, Tennessee’s Hispanic population has increased 16.7% since the 1990 Census. VOCA funds are increasingly being utilized to develop and fund services to previously under-served victims of crime in Tennessee.
F. USE OF VOCA ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDS: The Office of Criminal Justice Programs is committed to promoting program evaluation among VOCA sub-recipients to continue to improve services to victims of crime in Tennessee. In addition to using administrative funds to support OCJP grant management of VOCA, OCJP has contracted with Performance Vistas, Inc. to assist OCJP and VOCA sub-recipients in enhancing their management capability and self improvement capacities of VOCA programs. By sharing evaluation expertise with VOCA grantees and building responsible management uses of evaluative data, OCJP has pursued three purposes: To promote ongoing improvement in grantees’ performance by enhancing their use of process evaluation and analysis within their programs’ own operations; To support partnerships among community programs of different types by encouraging cross-program information sharing and decision-making (focused on better management uses of evaluative data); To enhance understanding of the programs’ effects on client outcomes, analysis of what works and what doesn’t work, recognition of what other benefits are being achieved, and discovery of what others may learn from the experience. OCJP wishes to promote this form of management capacity building by enlisting volunteer grantees in a supportive partnership with OCJP, focused on improved data collection and analysis. VOCA administrative funds are being used to fund this important effort.