Commissioners Court Meeting

Issue viewing agenda items? Click here to switch to the old format.

Return to the Minutes Page

Meeting Date:	09/13/2021
FY 2021 VCLG Grant Acceptance 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 acceptance of a Victim Coordinator and Liaison Grant (VCLG) award in the amount of $45,000 from the Office of the Texas Attorney General (OAG) as developed, coordinated, written, and submitted by the Webb County Sheriff’s Office for continued payment of the salary and fringe benefits of the crime victim advocate; and authorizing the Webb County Judge to execute all relevant documents; and any other matters incident thereto. This grant does not require a match; and, thus, there will be no impact to 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 Account #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, provide needed guidance through the bureaucratic process, and 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:

The purpose of the Victim Coordinator and Liaison Grant (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:

The Webb County Commissioners’ Court voted to authorize the submission of this grant application by the Webb County Sheriff’s Office to the Office of the Texas Attorney General (OAG) on a continual basis.

Fiscal Impact

Budget Account Number:	2713
Funding Source:	Grant Revenue
Balance:	$45,000
Financial Impact:
$45,000 TOTAL grant funds to continue to pay the salary & fringe benefits for a Crime Victim Advocate Therefore, no impact to the general fund.