Funds Help Task Force Hang On Unit Battling Domestic Violence Hopes For Federal Grant

A team of prosecutors, police officers and victim advocates focused on curbing domestic violence in Spokane will likely be funded for another month.

But the long-term status of the 3-year-old program remains uncertain.

County commissioners on Wednesday agreed to provide the Spokane Regional Domestic Violence Team with $43,100. The Spokane City Council will vote Monday on whether to provide the unit another $42,700 to operate through the end of August - money that hinged on the county chipping in.

Funding has been an issue because the Violence Against Women Office in Washington, D.C., has run into delays in appropriating grant dollars. Local officials have waited several months to hear whether their $603,000 grant application has been approved. A decision is expected next month.

Funding for the group officially ran dry at the end of June, but a surplus was tapped to fund operations through July.

The domestic violence team has been supported by $3 million in federal grants since its inception in 1997. It operates on an annual budget of about $1 million.

Commissioner Kate McCaslin said she hopes a long-term strategy for the organization will be forged by the end of August.

McCaslin described it as a worthwhile program, but she added, “Neither the city nor the county are in a position to pay more than $1 million a year.”

Spokane City Councilman Steve Eugster, who sits on the city’s finance committee, said he is uncertain whether the city could afford to sustain the program, unless its costs could be reduced.

Spokane County Sheriff Mark Sterk, who is on the domestic violence team’s policy board, said the group’s annual budget is expected to be trimmed to roughly $750,000 or less.

One way to cut expenses would be to move parts of the operation out of Mallon Court, which is next door to the Spokane County Courthouse, and into office space that is less expensive to rent, Sterk said.

The regional domestic violence team operates under a unique arrangement.

About 35 people, including po lice, prosecutors, judges and victim advocates, work together.

Diane Blumel, the team’s coordinator, said the setup is a pragmatic way of tackling the domestic violence problem in Spokane. Victims receive quick help in filing for restraining orders, for instance, and prosecutors can better track multiple domestic violence offenders because efforts are coordinated. Conviction rates have increased, too.

“My fear is that if the program is dismantled, we will lose control over addressing repeat offenders,” Sterk said.

In 1999, law enforcement officials received 12,296 calls for domestic violence assistance.

Blumel said adjudication time for domestic violence cases has been slashed by one-third since the team was formed.

This sidebar appeared with the story: WHAT’S NEXT Council vote

The Spokane City Council will vote Monday on whether to provide another $42,700 for the Spokane Regional Domestic Violence Team, which would help the unit operate through August.