Archives > Plano Star-courier > News
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Plano relaunches victim's advocate program
By Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com
The Plano Police Department is searching for two new civilian employees to serve as victim's advocates, whose tasks include counseling highly-traumatized victims and witnesses of crimes.
The tasks, carried out by the victim advocates, are currently carried out by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Collin County, which provides the service at no cost to the city thanks to a grant. The grant has saved the city about $345,000 over the past three years, but it is set to expire on May 31. As a result, the police department has asked for the funds to hire two full-time employees to handle the duties.
Police Chief Greg Rushin said the advocates are required by state law and provide a needed service when it comes to dealing with members of the community who have been victimized.
The service was started in the early 1990s when current City Manager Bruce Glasscock was the Plano Police Chief. Prior to the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the city cut the $115,000 in funding that went to Crossroads Family Services, which provided the services prior to the Boys and Girls Clubs. Rushin said the new employees will require $56,116 in additional city money for the remaining four months of the fiscal year, with that number jumping to $178,608 next year.
"We have done an extensive study and looked at other departments and our case load, and we feel absolutely 100 percent certain that we need two people full-time to do this job in-house," Rushin said.
Services such as the first offender program, as well as programs designed to help keep teenagers out of court for things such as minor in possession of alcohol or use of tobacco by a minor, will no longer be offered through the city. However, Rushin said many of these cases are now being referred to the Collin County Teen Court, as they have been for the past year.
Glasscock said this is an example of an unfunded mandate from the state, and with the loss of the grant, the city has been forced to appropriate additional funds toward this program.
"We were fortunate over the years that we were able to find outside services and contract services to provide for it," he said. "We knew when we cut the contract in 2009 that we had a solution to it, but that is clear it didn't sustain itself. We don't have much of a choice on this one."
Applicants to the position, which also carries responsibilities such as notifying victims of their rights and assisting family members in obtaining protective orders and emergency shelter, must have at least a bachelor's degree in social work or a related field, with a master's degree preferred. They must also have at least two year's experience in the field, as well as the proper certifications.
For information on jobs with the city of Plano, visit plano.gov/HR/Pages/employment.aspx.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: News «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
