Auditors find limited oversight and unreliable data for Georgia victim-assistance fees; lawmakers ask for follow-up

A legislative committee at the Georgia State Capitol heard testimony Thursday that the state'9s system for collecting and overseeing local victim assistance program (LVAP) fees has persistent gaps in oversight and unreliable reporting, and several senators urged follow-up work to ensure fee revenue reaches victims.

"Overall, our report found that oversight of these LVAP funds is limited," Lisa Cooper, executive director of the Georgia Department of Audits' Performance Audit Group, told the committee as she summarized the December 2024 audit requested by the House Appropriations Committee. "We identified enough problems that it meant it really wasn't possible to confirm that the funds were appropriately collected, distributed, or used."

The audit reviewed how the 5% fee added to criminal fines (established by state legislation in the 1990s) is collected, remitted and distributed. Cooper said the statutes and current practice leave unclear who should receive and distribute funds in every case: if a county operates a certified victim assistance program, the county governing authority should receive the funds; otherwise courts remit the money to district attorneys' offices. The audit found variability in local practice, with some district attorney and solicitor general offices reporting they keep all LVAP funds they receive.

"55 district attorney and solicitor general programs responded to a surveyand 12 programs said they keep all the funds," Cooper said, citing the report's survey results. Auditors also found examples where agencies reported receiving more funds than courts reported collecting, and counties with contingency reserves far above the 5% reserve cap spelled out in statute; Cooper said one county reserve approached $375,000 and 14 counties had reserves exceeding $50,000.

Committee members pressed auditors and state data stewards for more detail. "Is it possible to get the breakdown of the counties where the DAs and the solicitor generals are keeping the funds and not distributing them?" asked Senator Kirkpatrick; Cooper agreed to provide the county-level breakdown to the committee.

Some senators worried that money intended for victim services was being used for operating costs. Audit witnesses and CJCC staff said the distinction is not always straightforward: federal grants such as VOCA and VAWA impose restrictions on salary use that state fee revenues do not, and staff time can be allocated across direct victim services and administrative work. "Those individuals that are providing direct victim services have to show very clearly on their timesheet what time they're putting into those direct victim services," Jay Neal, executive director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), said, explaining how federal grant oversight requires time allocation.

The Georgia Superior Court Clerk's Cooperative Authority (GSCCA), which compiles court-reported fine-and-fee collections, told the committee it posts historical data and maintains an online system (CourtTracks). Rachel Rice, GSCCA's executive director, said the total reported collected in 2023 was about $11,002,024 but emphasized the data GSCCA receives is self-reported by courts and requires validation. Audit staff told lawmakers they could not confidently reconcile reported collections, distributions and program receipts because of reporting errors and inconsistent practices.

Senator Howard characterized the audit's findings as a "blinking red light" and urged deeper follow-up to determine the scope of missing or unreliable data. The committee agreed to pursue additional work: auditors will provide the county-level breakdowns requested, CJCC and GSCCA were asked to follow up on reporting anomalies, and the chair asked departmental and stakeholder representatives to help assemble a task force of the various entities named in the statute that created the State Victim Services Commission in 2004.

No formal votes or legislative actions were taken at the hearing. The committee adjourned after the chair asked interested agencies and stakeholder groups to designate point people so a short task force can be formed quickly to identify whether statutory clarifications, additional appropriations for data systems, or other steps are required.

What the report found and what comes next: The audit recommends clarifying statutory language about who is intended to administer and receive LVAP fees, directing CJCC to improve data collection and review processes and asking GSCCA to modify reports to capture the entities to which courts distribute funds. Committee members voiced broad bipartisan interest in follow-up oversight and in determining whether the State Victim Services Commission should be formed and empowered to provide statewide guidance on spending and data collection to ensure fees reach victims.