The Callaway County Commission is re-applying for a state grant in order to maintain a victim advocate for the 13th Circuit Court's juvenile system.
Callaway and Boone counties have both utilized the grant through the Missouri Department of Public Safety since 2011, which covers the salary and benefits for a victim advocate in juvenile cases. A victim advocate was first hired in 1998 through the State Services to Victims Fund, and the Family Court Juvenile Division used that funding until 2007. The agency could not apply for the 2007-08 grant year due to "inadvertently missing the deadline," according to materials from Ruth McCluskey, supervisor of Family Court Services in the 13th Judicial Circuit Court.
Once a 40-hour-per-week position, grant stipulations now cover 32 hours per week for the victim advocate. The county is requesting $78,260 to cover salary and benefits. That's a slight increase from requested amounts in the past. The Department of Public Safety can request for modifications to the grant, giving Callaway and Boone a greater chance of acceptance. Callaway must re-apply every two years.
McCluskey's office predicted the victim advocate will oversee 600 victims between 2015 and 2017, using an average of 70 referrals per quarter. This person assists those who have been harmed, including physical crimes and damage to property, by a juvenile. McCluskey said the grant specifies that a person must be a victim of "application of force or violence" or threatened with such crimes.
The victim advocate's primary objectives are:
•To educate victims about their rights and the court processes, including restitution and assisting in retrieving seized property;
•To assist with Crime Victim's Compensation;
•To give notice on court appearances and the disposition of their cases, which includes answering questions "regarding sanctions imposed on perpetrators," and assisting them with application of Victim Impact Statements; and
•Organize and lead training with juvenile division staff, attorneys and juvenile court judges that outline victim rights, emotional needs, and the "importance of communicating victim empathy when conducting investigations, communicating with victims or when victims testify in court."
"One of the main goals is to ensure we're having more in-person contact with victims - not only contacting them by mail or phone but also in person," McCluskey said Wednesday during a county commission meeting.
Within a five-year summary from 2009-13, the physical acts - including physical and sexual assaults - against persons committed by a juvenile have decreased in Callaway and Boone counties. The 13th Circuit Juvenile Division handled 493 cases in 2010 - the highest amount in that five-year span - and 287 cases in 2013. Property offenses are also down. The highest recorded between 2009-13 was 615 cases. In 2013, there were 344.
"The level of intervention (deputy juvenile officers) can provide when they have a more manageable case load is much improved," McCluskey said.
There is competition for the grant, McCluskey said. Hundreds of people showed up for a pre-bid meeting recently, including Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), which has a Mid-Missouri chapter), and Rainhow House, a children's advocacy home based in Columbia.
The application is due by Friday, Feb. 6.