Sheriff Presents $100,000.00 Check to SC Victims Assistance Network
March 13, 2017
On March 13, 2017, Sheriff Matthews presented Laura Hudson, Executive Director of the SC Victims Assistance Network (SCVAN), with a check in the amount of $100,000.00 to be used by that agency to assist victims of crime.
Every year every county in SC collects money from fines and assessments following judicial proceedings in Summary and General Sessions courts. A percentage of those funds are mandated by state law to be turned over to the State of South Carolina. The state in turn distributes a portion of those monies back to the counties, specifically to the county sheriff, to be used to assist victims of crime of which there are many. There are very strict guidelines on how those funds are to be used.
“Most people have no idea of the need for victims’ assistance programs unless they become a victim of crime,” said Sheriff Matthews. “The judicial system can be overwhelming and some people, especially women and children, often have no place to go after becoming the victims of domestic violence. People don’t appreciate this until it happens to them.”
Sheriffs are allowed by law to hire victim’s advocates and to distribute some of those funds to different programs that help crime victims, many of whom are in dire straits. At the end of every year, Sheriffs must return to the state any funds that are not expended or distributed to approved victims’ assistance programs. The criteria that the state has put into place are extremely strict and it is not uncommon for surpluses to be returned to the State of South Carolina. It should be noted that these funds are not generated by tax revenue nor do they come from a sheriff’s operating budget.
Last year Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews attended a fund raiser for the SCVAN and learned of a huge need for funding. The SCVAN provides numerous emergency services for those who have been victimized by domestic violence, sexual assault and other crimes. Many of those victims find themselves with no safe place to go or to even negotiate through the criminal justice system. The SCVAN provides a variety of services to include legal assistance for crime victims and relies on donations and grants to pay for their operations. They are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization.
Sheriff Matthews, upon learning of this need, checked to see if it was legal to disperse to the SCVAN $100,000.00 of the excess funding that the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office had on hand. Upon receiving approval from the SC State Office of Victim Assistance (SOVA), he directed that $100,000.00 of the KCSO victims’ assistance surplus be distributed to SCVAN. On the morning of March 13, 2017, a check made payable to the SC Victims Assistance Network in the amount of $100,000.00 was presented to Laura Hudson by Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews.
