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The Mayor and City Council shall discuss and possibly take action to provide consent to submit a grant application to the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission in amount not to exceed $26,000 for a part-time Victim Advocate Position. There is a 50/50 match requirement with this grant application of $26,000 which will be provided through volunteers' time and a portion of the Community Programs Manager's salary and benefits in the General Fund, City Manager's Office, Salary/Benefits (10011115-51100-52600) in FY14-15. Consent to submit authorizes the City Manager to sign all documents for the application process. Discussion and Action.
AGENDA ITEM DESCRIPTION
Arizona Criminal Justice Commission (ACJC), Crime Victim Assistance Grant is a competitive grant process. ACJC makes multiple awards for the state FY14-15 (July 1, 2014-June 30, 2015). The distribution amount will be $1,250,000 in state dollars. The grant must be used to provide victim assistance services directly to crime victims in Arizona in compliance with Arizona Administrative Code and Commission guidelines. In FY13-14, 47 awards were made. The majority of the awards were for salary and fringe benefits for those providing direct services to crime -victims.
Per the grant requirements, since the Maricopa Police Department has been providing victim services through a volunteer program prior to 2011, there is a 50% match requirement and in-kind sources are not allowable. Additionally, ACJC will most likely only fund a part-time position. A matching source for this grant is the Supervisor's Salary (time spent overseeing the Victim Advocate) , training costs through the Arizona Crime Victim Assistance Academy, Printing and Designing Victim Services Brochures and a Victim Rights Week Event. These items are all currently listed for consideration in the FY15 budget.
There are additional funding sources the Maricopa Police Department may seek funding through to make this a full-time position such as the Office of the Arizona Attorney General, Victim Rights Fund, the Program is charged with assisting and monitoring state and local entities that are required to implement and comply with victims' rights laws. Additional funding sources that may be considered in the future are the Governor's Office of Children, Youth and Families, STOP Violence against Women and the Arizona Women Foundation.
The Maricopa Police Department and the City Prosecutor both have a need for a Victim Advocate. The two agencies met previously and believe that this position will fulfill their combined needs. This part-time position for the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission Grant will:
Advise on victims' rights and how to assert them
Initiate follow-up with victims
Provide information and referral to victims
Maintain relationships with agencies having jurisdiction over crimes against persons or providing victim assistance
Assist in court as needed with initial appearance; confer with prosecutor, sentencing, etc.
Assist in the training and scheduling of the volunteers through the Victim Assistance Program
Maintain a volunteer database, tracking attendance volunteer hours, conducts monthly meetings.
Maintain a statistics database of victims services, victims served, and demographics
This item will be presented by Mary Witkofski, Community Programs Manager, Steve Stahl, Police Chief and Denis Fitzgibbons, City Attorney
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Mayor and City Council take action to provide consent to submit a grant application to the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission in amount not to exceed $26,000 for a part-time Victim Advocate Position. There is a 50/50 match requirement with this grant application $26,000 of which will provided through volunteers' time and a portion of the Community Programs Manager's salary and benefits in the general fund, City Manager's Office, Salary/Benefits (10011115-51100-52600) in FY15. Consent to submit authorizes the City Manager to sign all documents for the application process.