Prosecutor seeks continued VOCA funding as victim‑services director details caseload and duties

The Portage County prosecutor asked the Board of Commissioners on June 25 to continue funding for the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grant and to support an additional victim advocate, saying the office handled "over 18,870" victim-related cases in the past year across multiple courts.

Cassie Finnegan, director of victim services, described the daily work of advocates: covering arraignments in multiple courthouses, calling victims before and after hearings, preparing and sending statutory notices, coordinating medical and counseling referrals, and accompanying victims through sentencing, parole and grand-jury processes. Finnegan said an administrative assistant in the office sends roughly 2,200 notices a quarter under Marsy's Law and that advocates often provide crisis intervention and long-term emotional support.

Finnegan illustrated the time-intensity of the work with a medical‑safety example: an advocate urged a strangulation victim to seek immediate care; by the time the victim reached the hospital her airway had nearly closed. "You really need to go be seen. That is not something to mess with," Finnegan said, describing how advocates intervene to protect victims' safety.

Finnegan also listed responsibilities tied to grants and systemic advocacy: annual grant reporting, parole-hearing letters, parole-board representation and participation in multidisciplinary teams, child-fatality reviews and human-trafficking boards. She said the office is not a nonprofit and that funding opportunities targeted to prosecution can be harder to access, so the office actively monitors grant portals.

Commissioners thanked the prosecutor and Finnegan for the overview. The board did not finalize a specific new hire or a VOCA award during the meeting; the funding request was presented for consideration and supported in principle by commissioners who recognized budget constraints.