Oklahoma District Attorneys Council

PROJECT PURPOSE

DAC is the Administering Agency for both Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) subgrantees. Over 180 Oklahoma victim serving agencies have continued to provide services throughout the pandemic. Unfortunately, agencies have seen a drastic decline in revenue because of COVID shutdowns. Fundraisers were cancelled and volunteer donations of time and goods dramatically declined, especially in the rural areas. COVID lockdowns have contributed to the highest domestic violence rate in Oklahoma in twenty years. Additionally, crimes against children have increased in severity. The agencies serving these vulnerable citizens have continued to provide essential services in the face of massive lost revenue. A survey conducted by DAC in August 2021, found that 66 respondents calculated their lost revenue from the pandemic at over $10 million. To aid in recovering this lost revenue for all victim serving agencies, the DAC proposes that ARPA funds in the amount of $27,000,000.00, including 1.9% in DAC administrative costs, flow through DAC in a similar manner as our federal Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Fund grant. The DAC ARPA funds ?application? would be open to all Oklahoma victim serving agencies in which the applicant outlines a detailed justification of the lost revenue being requested.

EVIDENCE

The DAC is the State Administering Authority for all US Department of Justice pass-thru federal grants for VOCA and VAWA, and thus has intimate knowledge of budgetary hardship reported by victim serving agencies in Oklahoma. This project is intended to recover lost revenue experienced during the pandemic by victim service agencies, including domestic violence providers, Children?s Advocacy Centers, and any other victim serving agency located in our state. By recovering lost revenue, agencies will be able to continue to provide services intended to assist victims of crime. The services offered by these victim serving agencies are research and evidence based.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

The agencies that will be receiving the ARPA funds support victims of crime. These include vulnerable populations such as Native Americans, rural populations, people who are deaf and hard of hearing, people within the LGBTQ+ communities, African Americans, people of Asian descent, and Latinx communities. Research suggests that all victims of crime have been dramatically impacted by the pandemic. Responses to a survey distributed by the DAC to gather information about the impact of the pandemic on services indicated a rise in need for services which was disproportionate to the ability of agencies to accommodate the need due to many factors. Some of those factors include intermittent agency closures due to outbreaks of the virus among staff and clients, court process disruptions, and a heavy backload of cases in every jurisdiction. Additionally, Oklahoma?s domestic violence rates have risen during the pandemic. Both the domestic violence cases and the child abuse cases these agencies are assisting with are the most shocking and heinous many seasoned service providers have ever seen. Every aspect of services provided to victims by the agencies we hope can benefit from these funds has been impacted to some degree by the pandemic.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

The DAC will create an RFP process open to victim serving agencies in Oklahoma. The sub awardees will agree to comply with all the state and federal provisions of the ARPA funds and the provisions as set forth in the Administrative and Financial Guide Manual. Requirements include project record keeping, programmatic reporting and financial reporting. Quarterly Financial Reports (QFR) will be due on a quarterly basis. The subgrantee shall submit detailed semi-annual progress reports for the life of the award. A "Final Activities Report" will be due within 15 days of the end of the award period.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma