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OCVS Grants and Training Updates Bulletin #24
April 2024 - September 2024
Table of Contents
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VOCA 2024 - 2025 Competitive Grant Funding
Wisconsin victim service providers are experiencing a funding crisis that is drastically impacting their ability to provide critical services to survivors in the short- and long-term aftermath of victimization and trauma. This is due to a major decrease in VOCA funding from the federal government. In the recent VOCA competitive process, funding awards for providers were capped at $250,000 in order to make limited dollars stretch to as many agencies as possible. The average VOCA award went from $343,039 over the last five years to $122,642 for the next three years. Even with this restriction OCVS received 133 applications requested funding at more than twice the $13 million of available funding. In the upcoming state biennial budget process, Wisconsin DOJ is requesting state funding to restore victim service funding levels to that of the last five years. We are only beginning to see how this is impacting a victim’s access to services. What can you do to help? Please share with us and your state legislators how your organization needs to adapt as a result of these cuts and what restoring victim service funding with state resources would mean to the people you serve. Wisconsin DOJ continues to seek avenues for advocating for federal funding as well.
For more information on OCVS’s recent competitive process, please check out the following document: Explanation Summary
For further information on the awards list and appeal process, click on the links below:
Award List
Appeal Process
Thank you!
OCVS extends a sincere thank you to all internal and external partners involved in the 2024 - 2025 VOCA Competitive Grant process. We also want to acknowledge all the time and effort applicants put into crafting and submitting their applications. Please reach out to Alexandra Stanley or Teresa Nienow with questions.
VOCA Orientations
2024
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Mapping Victim Services to VOCA PMT
VOCA subgrantees must maintain accurate documentation that supports the information submitted in the Office for Victims of Crime Performance Measurement Tool (OVC PMT) database. The mapping guide provides terminology, definitions, and examples of victim services being provided by your program. The mapping guide may be used as a resource to ensure your program collects OVC PMT specific data that must then be entered on the OVC PMT website.
Mapping Victim Services Data for SAVS -
Statistical Requirements
Sexual Assault Victim Services (SAVS) award recipients are required to use an agreed-upon data collection system. This system will collect the data necessary to meet SAVS statistical requirements. The information in the mapping guide includes definitions with examples of the different types of victim services being provided by your program. The mapping guide may be used as a resource to tailor your database to collect SAVS specific data that needs to be reported to OCVS.
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Last year the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) contacted states to inquire about forensic exams and related medical costs. Keri Berling from, Director of the Wisconsin Crime Victim Compensation (CVC) Program, and Courtney Watson, OCVS’ SAVS & VAWA SASP Program & Policy Analyst, worked with the GAO on the procedures and statutes Wisconsin has in place, like CVC and the SAFE Fund. Yesterday, the GAO published the summary of their findings. This was an interesting project to be a part of and was a great learning experience for OCVS.
According to Dr. Gretta Goodwin, GAO Director,
“What we learned through our work is that all states and territories provide a pathway for survivors to access exams free of charge, but that coverage for any related treatments varies across states, territories, and on tribal lands. State and territory organizations that cover such costs reported to us that they spent about $93 million for exams and related treatments in 2022, but the full total amount spent by all payers in states and territories is not known.”
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INVESTIGATIONS OF SUSPECTED
CHILD MALTREATMENT
Effective Strategies for Questioning Children
  The Wisconsin Task Force on Children in Need has developed a guide to assist multidisciplinary teams in facilitating the coordination of child sexual exploitation and child sex trafficking cases.
The purpose of this document is to supplement existing child maltreatment response protocols. It can serve as a template for communities to develop their own local guidelines based on resources available to ensure a victim centered response that maximizes safety and evidence gathering efforts, while ensuring the provision of trauma-informed services for youth.
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 To fulfill the OCVS training requirement detailed in award contracts, all OCVS subrecipients must either attend an online or in-person Office of Crime Victim Services Introductory Training for Victim Service Providers (ITVSP), watch three 10-minute videos and one 30-minute module, and complete a post-test. The videos and post-test are no longer accessible online.
ITVSP is offered four (4) times per year in collaboration with the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA), Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy School (SAVAS) training.
To receive training updates from OCVS, please subscribe to our announcements at GovDelivery: Click here to Subscribe.
If you have any questions, please contact Kay Ragland.
  Kay Ragland sitting at the OCVS Resource table at the CIB Conference.
OCVS has recently scheduled upcoming trainings on dates which hold significant religious and cultural importance, specifically Rosh Hashanah, Diwali, and Indigenous People’s Day. We sincerely apologize and recognize the deep significance of these days and regret any inconvenience or barrier this overlap may have caused.
At OCVS, we are committed to honoring and respecting the diverse cultural and religious observances that are important to our community. We understand that inclusivity and cultural sensitivity are essential in fostering a respectful and supportive learning environment for everyone. Moving forward, we will make every effort to ensure our events are scheduled in a way that acknowledges and allows for individuals to celebrate all cultural and religious traditions, as well as other days of significance.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support as we strive to be more mindful and inclusive.
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Victim Rights Spotlight
When Victim Rights Vest
  
Mapping a Course for Victims Rights
A map has always been a helpful tool in getting us to our destination. For those of us working in the victim advocacy space, our ultimate journey’s end is a system where crime victims feel supported and empowered so they can have the most compassionate experience possible. To help us reach that goal, Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin partnered with the Wisconsin Department of Justice to hold victims' rights mapping exercises in multiple counites across the state.
The mapping exercises are a collaborative effort aimed at examining the implementation of victims' rights by literally “mapping” the path a victim takes through the criminal justice process. It provides a platform for victim service professionals and stakeholders to come together and identify the unique challenges faced by victims at each stage of their journey.
Our current focus is on bridging the gap between policy and implementation to ensure victims receive the full benefits and protections guaranteed to them under the Wisconsin Constitution. The mapping exercise allows us to address the challenges encountered by victims, from the initial reporting of a crime to post-conviction proceedings. By examining each touch point within the criminal justice system, we aim to gain a comprehensive understanding of the hurdles faced. Through this process, we can work towards improving the experience of victims and creating a more compassionate criminal justice system.
In our efforts to enhance victims' rights, we also acknowledge the importance of addressing the intersectionality of issues within the criminal justice system. By delving into these complexities, we can gain a deeper understanding and strive for meaningful change.
We invite you, as victim service professionals, to reach out if you would like to help bring a mapping exercise to your county. Your valuable insights and expertise will contribute significantly to the success of this initiative.
Nela Kalpic
State Director, Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin
nkalpic@marsyslaw.us
https://www.equalrightsforwi.com/
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Welcome Back to the Team!
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Crime Victim Compensation Claims Specialist -Melinda Knuth
My name is Melinda Knuth. I live on the far east side of Madison, I am married and have two adult children. I also have a grandson, Simma Jay, and daughter in law. I am also the legal guardian of my niece. Additionally, we have two dogs – Coda and Banana.
I attended UW Milwaukee, where I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and began working as a Probation/Parole Agent in Milwaukee in October 2000. After moving to Madison in 2015, I was fortunate enough to be hired as a Crime Victim Claims Specialist right here at OCVS, and continued in that role until April 2022. At that time, I decided to explore an opportunity to work on Violence Prevention from a public health perspective at Public Health Madison & Dane County. In 2024, an opening back at Crime Victim Compensation opened and I decided to return here.
If I had to provide a motto for my life it would be: Just Show Up! I am passionate about equity, community, meeting people where they are, providing space for and elevating the voices of the people and community who are experiencing it (whatever the it is that we are talking about).
I was born and raised in Wisconsin, growing up mostly on a dairy farm.
I love to be outside, and enjoy running for very long periods of time.
There are a lot of stories and details hidden in the lines and between the lines of this short summary, so feel free to ask if you are curious!
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CVC Stats at a glance, so far in 2024:
- Applications received through 5/31/24: 844
- Applications approved through 7/31/24: 746
- Applications denied through 7/31/24: 277
- Total benefits paid through 8/31/24: $2,570,721.19
- Currently, there is an approximate 5 month wait time from when an application is received, to when it is assigned to a claims specialist. One of our intake specialists has recently returned from a trip to Cambodia, and we recently hired an additional LTE, so we are hoping to see the time frame for the queue improve soon!
Please contact Keri Berling berlingkj@doj.state.wi.us with any questions.
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VAWA
STOP and SASP 3rd Quarter Fiscal Reports due 10/30/24
Fiscal reports may be submitted monthly, but at a minimum, quarterly. Please refer to the Monitoring section of Egrants to determine your fiscal reporting.
 How to Create a Fiscal Report in Egrants
VOCA
VOCA 4th Quarter/Final Fiscal Reports due 10/30/24
Fiscal reports may be submitted monthly, but at a minimum, quarterly. Please refer to the Monitoring section of Egrants to determine your fiscal reporting.
How to Create a Fiscal Report in Egrants
 VOCA Final Program Report due 10/30/2024
How to Submit a Program Report in Egrants
Final VOCA Program Report – (See directions attached above- “How to Submit a Program Report in Egrants”)
4th Quarter/Final OVC PMT Reports due 10/30/24
 How to Complete OVC PMT Report
OVC PMT FAQs
OVC PMT Dictionary & Terminology Resource
Fourth Quarter/Final OVC PMT Report – (See directions & definitions in the first three links above)
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The timeframe for the OVC PMT Fourth Quarter Report = July 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024.
- If you never had a password and need one, please call Mary Colletti.
- Enter your OVCPMT report, or Performance Measures data directly into the OVC PMT website.
- BUT, if you are having trouble signing onto the OVCPMT website, please go to the OVCPMT website to view the login instructions.
- You can also find this information on the OCVS Grants VOCA website.
 There has been much turnover in programs. In this last OVC PMT Report I noticed that new staff were left with no access to their agency VOCA OVC PMT Report.
I want to remind you all that you can Add/Delete Additional Users to access your OVC PMT Report. I want to remind you all to delete staff who are gone and then add in new staff as Additional Users. It is best practice to have a few staff who are trained on how to complete the report so that in case of an emergency, or staff changes, there is someone with the knowledge to complete the report for your agency.
To add/delete staff from your agency report, go into the ADMINISTRATION section of your OVC PMT Report. It is here where you will add and delete staff access to the report. Again, it is best to have multiple staff who are trained and able to do this report in case of an emergency or staff changes.
Please contact your Grant Manager if you have any questions!
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