By Jalayne Robinson, LMSW
TDCAA Victim Services Director
In November, the Inn of the Hills Hotel & Conference Center in Kerrville was the venue for a very successful conference held for key personnel and victim assistance coordinators (VACs) from across Texas. More than 230 members gathered to hear speakers on all sorts of topics—many, many thanks to our very informative speakers! We appreciate your time and valuable assistance to our members.
This conference is held annually and provides attendees a chance to network and get new ideas from others who do similar jobs in other counties and is a very worthwhile training experience for all. Mark your calendar for next year’s conference, which will be November 2–4, in San Antonio. We hope to see you there!
Suzanne McDaniel Award
Lisa Mehrhoff, VAC in the County Attorney’s Office in Parker County, was honored with the Suzanne McDaniel Award for her work on behalf of crime victims. Lisa has worked in her office for 12 years; she and her dog, East (pictured at left) comfort and help victims navigate the judicial process. Lisa has been a mentor to other VACs and is an organizer for many victim-focused programs and events, such as the Tree of Angels and a school art contest in conjunction with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
The Suzanne McDaniel Award is given each year to a person employed by a prosecutor office and whose job duties involve working directly with victims. The person must demonstrate impeccable service to TDCAA, victim services, and prosecution. It is named after Suzanne McDaniel, a pioneer in Texas victim services who served as TDCAA’s Victim Services Director until her death in 2010. Her entire career was devoted to serving victims of crime.
PVAC recipients
This year, 11 people received their Professional Victim Assistance Coordinator (PVAC) certificates. They were recognized at TDCAA’s Key Personnel & Victim Assistance Coordinator Conference in Kerrville in November.
Liliana Mendez, a VAC in the Cameron County DA’s Office. Liliana has 13 years’ experience in the DA’s office and is a supervisor to other VACs. She is very active in her community, and the support letters attached to her PVAC application all state how dedicated and compassionate she is to crime victims.
Gloria Reyes, a VAC in the Fort Bend County DA’s Office. Gloria has been a Protective Order Coordinator in the office for 19 years and works closely with domestic violence victims. She also volunteers her time for the many domestic violence events her county hosts. Her DA, Brian Middleton, so graciously wrote, “Gloria truly is the face of our office for domestic violence victims in Fort Bend County.”
Maria Guerrero, a VAC in the Harris County DA’s Office. Maria has worked in this office for eight years. She is fluent in Spanish and is a team leader tasked with supervising other VACs. Maria comes highly recommended by her references, and many express how she effectively handles crime victims with care and compassion no matter how difficult the case.
Alex Guajardo, a VAC in the Harris County DA’s Office. Alex has worked in the office for five years and had 12 years’ prior experience in the judicial system. Alex is a team leader and has the responsibility of supervising and training other VACs in the office. He provides direct victim services assistance to felony-level cases.
Max Ayala, a VAC in the Harris County DA’s Office. Max has worked in this office for five years and is a team leader. He has numerous years of prior experience in the judicial system before coming to the DA’s office, one of which was with the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department. Max is fluent in Spanish both written and spoken.
Joanna Feliz-Carvallo, a VAC in the Harris County DA’s Office. Joanna has worked for the office for four years. She is currently assigned to working with victims of misdemeanor and felony crimes.
Le’Shae Haynes, a VAC in the Fort Bend County DA’s Office. LaShae has worked at the office for six years and began as an intern while attending Sam Houston State University, the only university in the state that offers an undergraduate and graduate degree in the field of Criminal Justice—Victim Studies.
Amanda Horak, a VAC in the Washington County DA’s office. Amanda has worked in the office for seven years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a minor in sociology from Texas A&M University. Amanda has a passion for helping others and is an integral employee for the office.
Marlene Landaverde, a VAC in the Harris County DA’s Office. Marlene has worked for this office for four years. Marlene is bilingual and assists Spanish-speaking victims of violent felony crimes.
Monica Neal, a VAC in the Harris County DA’s Office. Monica has worked for this office for eight years assisting victims of domestic violence. Prior to becoming a VAC, Monica worked for the Houston Area Women’s Center.
Ilda Rupert, a VAC in the Montgomery County DA’s Office. Ilda has worked for the office for nine years and is assigned to victim services in the Crimes Against Children Special Unit at Children’s Safe Harbor. She is an advanced advocate for child victims of crime.
PVAC application deadline
Professional Victim Assistance Coordinator (PVAC) recognition is a voluntary program for Texas prosecutor offices designed to recognize professionalism in prosecutor-based victim assistance and acknowledge a minimum standard of training in the field. Applicants must provide victim assistance through a prosecutor’s office and be or become a member of the Texas District & County Attorneys Association (key personnel category).
Other requirements for PVAC recognition include:
• either three years’ experience providing direct victim services for a prosecutor’s office or five years’ experience in the victim services field, one of which must be providing prosecutor-based victim assistance;
• proof of 45 hours of training. An applicant with 10 years’ experience in direct victim services (five of which must be in a prosecutor office) may sign an affidavit stating that the training requirement has been met in lieu of providing copies of training receipts; and
• five professional letters of recommendation.
The next deadline to submit a PVAC application is January 31, 2022; the application is at www.tdcaa.com/resources/victim-services.
Board elections
At the Key Personnel & Victim Assistance Coordinator Conference in November, elections were held for the South-Central Area (Regions 4 & 8) and East Area (Regions 5 & 6) for board representatives. Sara Bill, who works in the County & District Attorney’s Office in Aransas County, was elected as the South-Central Area representative. Teri Rose, a VAC in the County Attorney’s Office in Chambers County, was elected as the East Area representative. Both Sara and Teri’s terms began January 1 and will be for two years. Katie Etringer Quinney, a VAC in the 81st Judicial DA’s Office in Floresville, was elected as the 2022 Chairperson and will serve one year. Welcome to you three!
Outgoing members of the Board include Windy Swearingen of the DA’s Office in Brazos County; Tracy Viladevall of the CDA’s Office in McLennan County; and Amber Dunn of the CDA’s Office in Denton County. Many thanks to all of you for your time and dedication in serving on the Board!
The Key Personnel–Victim Services Board prepares and develops operational procedures, standards, training, and educational programs. Regional representatives serve as a point of contact for their region. To be eligible, each candidate must have the permission of the elected prosecutor, attend the elections at TDCAA’s Annual Conference or be appointed, and pay TDCAA membership dues. If you are interested in training and want to give input on speakers and topics at TDCAA conferences for key personnel and VACs, consider running for the Board. Elections are held each November at our TDCAA Key Personnel & Victim Assistance Coordinator Conference. If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected].
National Crime Victims’ Rights Week
Each April, communities throughout the country observe National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) by hosting events promoting victims’ rights and honoring crime victims and those who advocate on their behalf. In 2022, NCVRW will be observed April 24–30, and the theme is “Rights, access, equity for all victims.” Check out the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) website at https://ovc.ojp.gov/news/announcement/2022-national-crime-victims-rights-week-theme for additional information.
If your community hosts an event, we would like to publish photos and information about it in The Texas Prosecutor journal. Please email me at [email protected] to notify us about your event.
Victim services consultations
Are you a new VAC who works in a prosecutor’s office? Would your office benefit from a group victim services training? Do you or your office need a victim services refresher? I am available to provide such training and technical assistance to you and your office in individual or group presentations. The services are free of charge.
If you would like to schedule a victim services consultation, please email me at [email protected].