Discussion and possible action to approve the submission of a grant application to the Office of the Texas Attorney General (OAG) for a Victim Coordinator and Liaison Grant (VCLG) grant to pay for the salary and fringe benefits of One (1) Crime Victim Advocate in the amount estimated at $42,000; 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.
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 offers critical support, facilitates/expedites filling out detailed paperwork, provides needed guidance through the bureaucratic process, and delivers 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.
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