Commissioners Court Meeting

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Meeting Date:	04/12/2021
Authorization for VCLG Grant Application by the Webb Co. Sheriff's Office
Submitted for:	Martin Cuellar	Submitted By:	Anita Guerra
Department:	Sheriff

Subject:

Discussion and possible action to authorize the submission of a grant application as developed, coordinated, and submitted by the Webb County Sheriff’s Office for a Victim Coordinator and Liaison Grant (VCLG) to the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) in the amount estimated at $90,000 for the salary and fringe benefits of a Crime Victim Advocate for a period of two (2) years; and designating the Webb County Judge as the authorized official in all matters related to this grant; and any other matters incident thereto. This grant does not require any type of match. Thus, this proposed grant will have no impact on the general fund. All required documents were sent to the Economic Development Department and were found in compliance with the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) policy. [Requested by Martin Cuellar, Webb County Sheriff; Grant Fund #2713]

Issue: Victims of violent crime suffer significant financial duress, emotional trauma, and physical injuries. While the State of Texas has set up a system to compensate these victims for their expenses and financial losses due to death, disabling injuries, and emotional trauma utilizing collected court costs from convicted offenders, the victims often must navigate the complex state compensation system and extensively document their benefit eligibility while still under emotional and physical distress.

Solution: The Webb County Sheriff’s Office grant funded Crime Victim Advocate will offer critical support, facilitate/expedite filling out detailed paperwork, will provide needed guidance through the bureaucratic process, and will deliver outreach/education to the local community.

Result: Victims of violent crime in Webb County, including victims from special populations, such as children, youth, rural, colonia, monolingual, and elderly populations, will be provided with direct victim services, training, and outreach/education.

Background:

Working in partnership with local and statewide law enforcement agencies and nonprofit organizations, the OAG continues to focus on minimizing the physical and emotional trauma experienced by children and adults who are victims of crime. The purpose of the VCLG program is to fund the mandated positions described in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 56.04, specifically Victim Assistance Coordinators (VAC) in prosecutor offices and Crime Victim Liaisons (CVL) in law enforcement agencies.

Previous Court Action:

In the recent past, the court has given authorization to the Webb County Sheriff’s Office to be able to apply for this grant.

Fiscal Impact

Budget Account Number:	2713
Funding Source:	Grant Revenue
Balance:	Various
Financial Impact:
$90,000 requested grant funding. Thus, no impact to the general fund.