The Office of Violence Against Women (OVAW) is a component of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to administer grant programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act and subsequent legislation, and provides national leadership on issues of domestic violence (DV), dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. OVAW grants support coordinated community responses to hold offenders accountable and increase the safety of victims. Units of government may apply for the grants, which means the Mayor will have to sign the grant application with the Council’s approval. The goal of the application will be to obtain funding for Coordinated Community Response Team (CCRT) training and a second Prosecution Division DV advocate. Each of these requests will be discussed below.
The Council has previously embraced the idea of initiating a City of Yakima Coordinated Response to Domestic Violence Team (CCRT) (Council business meeting, September 11, 2018). CCRT is a team comprised of staff who are involved with DV incidences, from the 911 call taker to the probation officer, who coordinate every link of the response by understanding the role of each party and developing shared goals. The result is a transparent response that can be understood, examined, and improved. Once this result is achieved, the circle of responders is enlarged to include other agencies, community, and faith based groups. We are seeking grant funds to provide training to a City of Yakima CCRT.
In 2020, crimes of domestic violence comprised 29% of the City of Yakima prosecution caseload, or 886 cases. This percentage is high when compared with other communities in the state. These cases take the most resources in the Division because the stakes are high for the victim and the defendant. With the exception of a few cases, most rely on the cooperation of the victim and developing a positive relationship with the victim takes time and a special skill set. Fortunately, and thanks to the initiative of the City Council, the Prosecution Unit now has a DV advocate on staff. The DV advocate, Maria Rosales, has improved our victim outreach. Her bilingual skills ensure that we are reaching most of our victim population.
At any given time we have 250 domestic violence cases pending. Ms. Rosales performs the following tasks for those cases:
a) Provide support and case management to DV victims during criminal proceedings;
b) Assess and address victims’ safety needs and other concerns related to prosecution;
c) Provide crisis support and ongoing safety planning;
d) Explain legal processes, options and potential outcomes to DV victims;
e) Work cooperatively with community-based DV advocates and advocacy programs;
f) Convey DV victim input to all system-based professionals;
g) Ensure victims’ rights are understood and honored (RCW 7.69.030);
h) Accompany DV victims to joint interviews, defense interviews, and court hearings;
i) Consult closely with prosecutor on victim issues and case concerns; and
j) Provide advocacy for children similarly involved in the DV criminal case.
The variety and complexity of the tasks performed by our sole DV advocate mean our resources are stretched thin. In addition, she is tasked with coordinating the City of Yakima CCRT. This project will take time, especially initially, and will impact her ability to perform advocacy. We will seek grant funds to add a second Domestic Violence Advocate to the Prosecution Division staff. The Grant application is due the end of March and decisions are announced by October 1, 2021.
For Council’s consideration is a resolution that will authorize the Mayor to sign a letter of intent, the grant application, and any other documents required for the Grant.