Local agencies using federal grant to help crime victims

Several local agencies will have extra help navigating crime victims through the legal system, thanks to funding from a federal law enforcement grant.

The S.C. Public Safety Coordinating Council has authorized funding through the Victims of Crime Act to add more than 80 victim advocates to law enforcement and nonprofit agencies statewide, including more than a dozen in York, Chester and Lancaster counties.

South Carolina’s share of this funding for 2015 amounted to about $29 million, according to the S.C. Department of Public Safety. The availability of these funds allowed the department to recommend to the Public Safety Coordinating Council the funding of an additional 86.5 victim advocate positions statewide.

The grant funds 80 percent of each position, according to 6th Circuit Solicitor Randy Newman, whose office received four new victim advocates – two in Lancaster County and one each in Chester and Fairfield counties. The remaining portion is county-funded.

With the additional positions, Newman’s office now has seven victim advocates along with a director of victim services.

“With the caseload and lack of staff, it’s a tremendous help to us because the attorneys can focus on the things that only attorneys can do and the victim’s advocates can do the other things,” he said. “Before the grant, we had one (victim advocate) in each county.”

Newman said the victim advocate serves as a “middle man” between the prosecutor and the victim.

“They keep the victim informed as far as what’s going on with the case, talk to them about the process and let them know what’s going on,” he said. “Any time there’s a court appearance, they’ll sit with them during court and answer any questions they may have.”

The York County Sheriff’s Office has three full-time victim advocates and plans to hire a fourth with its share of the grant money, according to Kathy Nelson, who supervises the victim assistance unit.

At the sheriff’s office, victim advocates are Class 3 officers, which in South Carolina means they have limited arrest powers and special duties and are trained in firearms. Nelson said this is preferable because victim advocates are often escorting victims in and out of court proceedings or going out in the field to visit them.

“Sometimes tempers flare,” Nelson said. “For us to go out and follow up with the victim in their home, it’s better for safety reasons to have that certification.”

Like many agencies, the sheriff’s office victim assistance unit is in need of more employees to deal with an increased caseload, Nelson said. Their advocates take on cases not just from the sheriff’s office but from every municipality in York County except for Rock Hill.

“The caseload is still so that we can’t spend as much time with the victims as we’d like,” Nelson said. “We follow the case all the way through the court system with the exception of General Sessions (cases).”

Law enforcement agencies and solicitor’s offices typically have their own victim advocates. A majority of the positions awarded through the federal grant are for private nonprofit agencies, including Safe Passage in Rock Hill, which added three more advocates.

At Safe Passage, advocates aren’t just guiding victims of domestic violence and sexual assault through the judicial system – they’re empowering them to make those decisions, according to volunteer coordinator Crystal O’Gorman.

“A victim advocate is a person who is empowering the victim to make the choices on their own,” she said. “We’re kind of helping them go through the process and prepare to start their life all over again.”

Jada Charley, executive director of Safe Passage, said they learned in October that they would be receiving a portion of the award. They were also awarded funding through the same federal program to purchase a van.

“We have to be a nonprofit, we have to be solvent,” she said of the grant requirements. “We have to have a history of providing the services and meticulously outline what services we’re going to provide and how they serve crime victims.”

Victim advocates at Safe Passage are prepared to guide a survivor of domestic violence or sexual assault through any portion of their case, whether it’s notifying them of upcoming hearings, helping them file a restraining order or advising them of what their rights are, according to DeNea Means, court advocate for Safe Passage.

“We don’t speak for them, we don’t act as attorneys for them – we just offer our expertise,” she said. “Many of the victims, this is their first time appearing in court.”

Means said the most rewarding part of her job is seeing survivors after the final gavel drops.

“The person is happy to have their order of protection so they’re not gonna be bothered,” she said. “They can go home and live in their house and feel a little more safe than they felt before.”

With additional advocates, Means said, they can help more people feel that same level of safety and empowerment.

“If we have more victim advocates, we can get more survivors in to do intakes and education and go out into the community and educate people,” she said. “We’re helping people, but there’s still a lot of work that has to be done to change the culture.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Local agencies using federal grant to help crime victims."