Executive summary: Crime Victim Services report part II, compensation and assistance services

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Crime Victim Services Report
Part II - Compensation and Assistance Services November 2002

Russell W. Hinton, State Auditor

Performance Audit Operations Division Department of Audits and Accounts

254 Washington St, SW Atlanta, GA 30334

Compensation and Assistance Services Background:

Under the provision of the Crime Victims Bill of Rights (CVBR), two independent systems begin when a crime is committed: a system of notification services for all victims and a system of compensation and assistance services for victims who meet specified criteria.
Georgia provides compensation to victims through the Crime Victims Emergency Fund (CVEF), operated by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC). In order to be eligible for funds, an individual must be a victim of a violent crime resulting in physical injury, financial hardship, or death. The maximum award is $25,000 per victimization. An award is made under one of six categories: medical, counseling, funeral, lost wages, loss of economic support, and crime scene clean-up. Each category has a maximum award. The CVEF is funded through a 10% fee (up to $25) applied on all Driving Under the Influence fines; fees paid by parolees; fees paid by probationers; and grant funds.
CJCC also manages federal grants used to fund victim assistance programs operated at the local level. In calendar year 2001, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grant was used to provide $2.8 million in funding to 42 programs. During the same year, the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grant was used to provide $10 million to 158 local programs. Additional funding for these programs is provided through the Local Victim Assistance Program Fee, established in 1995. This statute provides for a penalty of 5% to be added onto all fines assessed in criminal cases. In order to receive these funds, local programs must obtain certification from the CJCC.

Additional information on crime victim services is available in the companion report Crime Victim Services, Part I: Notification Services. All victims are to receive written notification of: the possibility of pretrial release of the accused; their rights and roles in the criminal justice process; the availability of compensation; and, the availability of community based assistance programs. Once a suspect is arrested, the victim has the right to receive information on: the suspect's custody status; court proceedings; the availability of compensation, services, and assistance; the availability of temporary restraining or protective orders; and, the right to file a victim impact statement. Once an offender is sentenced, victims may register with the Department of Corrections and the Board of Pardons and Paroles to receive notification on the offender's custody and parole status. They may also submit a victim impact statement for the Board to use when considering the offender for parole.

Crime Victim Services Part II: Compensation and Assistance Services

Page 1

Recommendations
Action should be taken by CJCC to more fully document its procedures for determining which organizations receive VOCA grants, and it should require grant recipients to document their expenditures as a condition of receiving funds. For the 2001 grant year, CJCC awarded $10 million in VOCA grants, of which $8.8 million was awarded to 136 existing programs, and $1.2 million was awarded to 23 of 44 applicants for new programs. No documentation was available to verify that existing programs met all eligibility requirements and to show how CJCC decided to fund new applicants. In addition, CJCC is reimbursing VOCA and VAWA grant recipients approximately $12 million per year without any written documentation to support their expenditures other than a computerized spreadsheet.
CJCC should better ensure that grant -funded victim assistance services are available on an equitable basis throughout the state. The current process for determining which grants to fund does not allow CJCC to ensure the equitable availability of services throughout the state. Only 69 of Georgia's 159 counties currently have a VOCA- or VAWA- funded program.
CJCC should ensure that data obtained from courts on LVAP fee (5% fee) collections and disbursements is accurate and complete, and it should periodically verify that certified LVA programs which are eligible to receive funds are still operational. Not all courts are reporting collections and disbursements to CJCC, and some courts are reporting disbursements over the amount collected. No reconciliation or review had been conducted by CJCC to examine these discrepancies. In addition, once an LVA program is certified as eligible to receive funds, no further review is conducted by CJCC to determine if the program still exists.
CJCC should be commended for its efforts to collect restitution in order to reimburse the Crime Victims Emergency Fund. CJCC has begun working with district attorneys' offices, victim advocates, and probation offices to ensure restitution is collected. In fiscal year 2001, CJCC collected $37,611 in restitution for 29 compensation awards totaling $70,593 that were made between 1993 and 2000 .
The General Assembly may wish to consider establishing more specific legislation on the collection of victim compensation fees by Pardons and Paroles to ensure that its intent is being followed. The Board's current policy of requiring all violent offenders to make reparation to the Crime Victims Emergency Fund instead of paying a parole supervision fee does not appear to be based on provisions clearly specified in the law.
Consideration may be given to establishing an oversight function to ensure the appropriate amount of LVAP funds are collected by the courts and remitted to the appropriate programs as well as more clearly establishing purposes for which the funds may be used. During site visits to 17 LVAP programs, each stated it assumed the amount it was receiving from the courts was correct since there was no way to validate the amount. Additionally, uses for LVAP fees have not been clearly defined and programs are not required to report on how funds are spent.
Consideration should be given to clarifying state law requiring Local Victim Assistance (LVA) programs to have county ownership or participation as a condition of receiving LVA funds. By law, an LVA program is not eligible for LVA funds unless "the county where the fine was imposed operates or participates in the program," however, the law does not define county "participation." Absent any specific statutory requirements, CJCC has determined that any monetary or in-kind contribution by a county qualifies as "participation," but it certifies programs without documentation that the requirement is met.
Information contained in the victim impact statement (VIS) is confidential at the state level, but not at the local level. The VIS filed with the Board of Pardons and Paroles is exempt from the Open Records Act and may not be obtained by the public; however, the VIS filed at the local level for use during the sentencing phase is "discoverable" and open to be viewed by the offender.

Click here for full report

For additional information or to request a copy of the Program Evaluations, contact Paul Bernard at 404-657-5220.

Crime Victim Services Part II: Compensation and Assistance Services

Page 2