Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Victim Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Victim services team reports steady caseload, warns of federal VOCA funding declines
Summary
Provo’s Victim Services team briefed the council on a biannual report showing continued demand for domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking support and warned that federal VOCA grant reductions could threaten staff capacity.
Provo’s Victim Services coordinator and advocates delivered the program’s biannual grant report at the Feb. 11 council work meeting, telling the council the office continues to handle thousands of requests for assistance and relies on a mix of city and grant funding.
Victim Services coordinator Lee Hurey (spelled in presentation as “Lee Hurey”) introduced advocates Kim Thain, Denise Hernandez and others and described the team’s structure: five advocates, two funded by the city, two funded by the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grant and one part-time CDBG-funded court advocate who attends court each Wednesday. The office is housed in the police department’s Criminal Investigations Division and works closely with detectives, prosecutors and community partners including the Family Justice Center and the Refuge.
Staff outlined typical services: crisis intervention, assistance with protective orders and stalking injunctions, accompaniment to court, safety planning, referrals to emergency housing, victim input to prosecutors, and outreach (college presentations, a weekly Family Justice Center clinic). They described daily operations—reviewing police reports, proactively contacting victims, and partnering on scene responses for incidents such as fires or homicides.
Advocates provided 2024 activity counts: 618 domestic and family violence victims, 227 adult sexual assaults, 110 child sexual assaults, 148 child abuse cases, 311 stalking/harassment cases, 227 adult physical assaults and 10 elder-abuse cases. Overall the office reported providing 7,829 resources to victims in 2024. Staff emphasized that these figures represent reported incidents and that unreported victims remain a concern.
The team warned council members that VOCA funding has declined nationally and locally in recent years; VOCA now funds two advocate positions and historically covered training and other program costs. Presenters told the council that further VOCA reductions could affect staffing and program capacity, and reminded the council the grant requires two reports to city council per grant cycle.
Council members asked whether advocates proactively review police reports (they do) and whether officers make referrals (yes, including after-hours on-call coverage). Council members also asked about Spanish‑speaking outreach (two advocates are bilingual) and whether immigrant status discourages callers; staff said they actively reassure callers that immigration status does not prevent the office from offering help.
No formal council action was taken; the session was informational and part of the VOCA reporting requirement.
