W000127
Tuesday, November 06, 2001 11:24 PM
My comments
I work with crime victims in three cities near Dallas and Fort Worth. I
highly recommend that you look at the program of Crime Victims Compensation
in Texas and California. Both of these states have very good programs and
you might learn from them. I think that if you are using tax payer money,
you need to be even more careful how you disburse it.
The other aspect is to be sure that you have adequate manpower and the
latest fax/scanner/computer equipment to do the job. The State of Texas now
has machines that you fax to and the document is scanned directly into the
computer of the worker and decisions can be made quickly. Outsourcing
documents is a disaster. Hiring some consultants from other states might
save you a lot of time and money. I definitely think you should make the
fund a "payer of last resort".
As much as I am for helping the victims of New York, nothing will erase the
pain and sorrow. Money will ease the hardship to some extent but
overreaction can serve to victimize the tax payers if you don't use
discretion.
I wish I were there to help.
Individual Comment
Euless, TX