Kane County victim services program reports 224 clients, seeks two-year grant renewal

Devon Shakespeare, the Kane County victim services coordinator, reported to the County Commission on April 20 that the county program served 224 clients between April 1, 2024, and April 1, 2025, and has applied for a two-year state grant that would provide $21,000 per year if approved.

Shakespeare said the program’s caseload includes a broad mix of crime victims and that roughly half of clients were served for domestic violence or child sexual-abuse cases. "Each year will be $21,000. It's not approved yet, but I don't expect there to be any issues with that," she told commissioners. She also told the board that "In Utah, every adult is a mandatory reporter" when asked how members of the public should respond if they know or suspect child abuse.

The report summarized available services: advocacy and court support, assistance with protective orders through the Certified Advocate Partner (CAP) program, referrals for free therapy through contracts with regional providers, and help applying for the state Crime Victim Reparations program. Shakespeare said the program also enrolled victims in a new Safe at Home service that provides a legal substitute address to protect survivors who qualify.

Shakespeare gave specific program statistics: in calendar 2024 the Children's Justice Center served children ages 7–18 (the youngest served last year was 7), and across the April-to-April reporting window the office provided about 1,200 criminal-justice services such as hearing notifications, restitution assistance and victim-impact statements. On the composition of the caseload she said, “Every case? Every single case. Yeah. None of them were, like, strangers or anything like that,” describing that most alleged perpetrators were known to victims.

Commissioners asked follow-up questions about the Children's Justice Center caseload and repeat victimization. Shakespeare said some clients are repeat victims while others are new cases; she declined to give an exact repeat-victim count beyond noting "a handful" of repeat instances and estimated about 15 families served through the Children's Justice Center portion in the period discussed.

Why this matters: the program’s grant renewal and continuing services affect survivor access to legal and mental-health supports and the county’s ability to provide court-based advocacy, protective-order help and trauma-informed referrals. Shakespeare said she reports biannually to maintain grant compliance and offered to brief commissioners in more detail if needed.

The commission did not take any formal action on the report; commissioners thanked Shakespeare and moved to the next agenda item.