Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Victim Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Provo Police Victim Services reports funding cuts and staffing drop; advocates say services remain but capacity tightened
Summary
Victim-services staff told the council they have declined from seven advocates to four full-time positions because of grant reductions, and that VOCA funding currently supports two full-time positions. Staff highlighted bilingual capacity, court accompaniment work and continued case support for large investigations.
Provo Police Victim Services presented a semi-annual update at the council work session, reporting the team has fallen from seven funded advocates to four full-time advocates due to grant funding reductions.
Newly announced coordinator Kim Thane (who took over from Lee Fair) and advocates described program qualifications, on-call responsibilities and training requirements. Advocates must have a bachelor’s degree in a social science and meet state training expectations; the program also requires at least one Spanish-fluent advocate under the VOCA grant. Staff said the unit provides confidential system-based advocacy, court accompaniment and referrals to community partners such as The Refuge.
The unit described several recent case types: a large investigation of allegations against an OBGYN that generated more than 100 screened cases, domestic-violence incidents (including an 11-year-old child who wrote a victim statement and sought a protective order), and harassment and custody-related incidents where advocates helped obtain civil protective orders to prevent removal of children from school or the country.
Staff emphasized that the victim-services team is largely grant-funded. Two positions are fully VOCA-funded; one core advocate is funded by CDBG; the supervisor role is city-funded and the mayor’s budget proposes different match arrangements for the upcoming grant cycle. Advocates said training and on-call requirements are challenging when funds do not cover training costs; they described efforts to maintain required trauma-informed training despite reduced VOCA support.
Council members expressed support and concern about the staffing decline; several councilors said victim advocacy is a priority and offered to seek funding if grants are not restored. Staff said their services are confidential and available even to people who do not report to police; advocates also said they rarely are subpoenaed and that most documentation is recorded in the police records system and becomes part of case reports.
Why this matters: Victim advocates provide crisis support, court navigation and referrals that can affect public-safety outcomes for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other crimes. Reduced staffing risks limiting capacity for court accompaniment and outreach.
What’s next: Staff will continue to apply for grants and pursue alternatives; council members signaled willingness to explore local funding if necessary to restore capacity.
