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Commissioner Worley - Budget/Purchasing - To Accept and Appropriate a Governor’s Crime Commission Grant Award to Fund Salaries and Fringes for the Sheriff’s Domestic Violence Deputies (Grant Funds - $136,836; County Match 25% - $45,612)
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STAFF CONTACT
Pat Laws - Budget - 704-866-3771
BUDGET IMPACT
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Appropriate additional Federal pass-through State funds. The 25% county match is provided by a portion of the court advocate’s salary
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BUDGET ORDINANCE IMPACT
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BACKGROUND
There is an urgent need to provide on-going services through the specialized Domestic Violence Unit (2 DV Deputies and 2 Court Advocates) and their goals of providing consistent, integrated, comprehensive services to victims of domestic violence. In 2016, The Shelter responded to 1,080 crisis calls- a 20% increase from the previous year- and 2,920 information calls. The Shelter provided 5,950 bed nights for 185 DV victims. The Sheriff's Office received 9,344 DV calls for service, and served 420 criminal warrants and 134 orders for arrest between 10/1/16 and 9/30/17. The Court Advocate assisted with 862 ex-parte orders and accompanied 721 clients to court during the same time period. The Sheriff's Office will continue to fund an existing Court Advocate's position as the 25% match for GCC grant funding. The Sheriff's Office will also partner with 10 municipal law enforcement agencies through an MOU to assume primary responsibility for serving all domestic violence-related warrants and summons in each jurisdiction to strengthen the criminal justice system's response to violence against women.
This project will fund post-violence law enforcement services to domestic violence victims in order to increase victims' knowledge and safety, to decrease victims' stress, and ultimately to reduce domestic violence and associated trauma, injury and death in Gaston County.
POLICY IMPACT
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ATTACHMENTS
Budget Change Request