Wisconsin Department of Justice
Program Narrative
State of Wisconsin FY2016 Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Grant Application
Statement of the Problem
In December of 2012, WI Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced the creation of the
Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Response Team (AG SART), which was composed of a
multidisciplinary group of professionals knowledgeable in the complex issues surrounding
sexual assault, with the purpose of improving access to, management of and payment for sexual
assault forensic exams. Members of the AG SART originally appointed by the Attorney General
included law enforcement professionals, prosecutors, victim advocates, sexual assault nurse
examiners, hospital administrators, and policy makers. At its inception, the AG SART was
tasked with the following responsibilities:
1. To ensure all sexual assault kits are created, distributed, used, collected and sent to the
Wisconsin State Crime Lab (WSCL) in an efficient and expedient manner;
2. To ensure the seamless payment of forensic exams in a manner that prevent victims from
being billed in the process;
3. To ensure the protocol and procedure of anonymous kit collection and testing;
4. To provide a “best practices” model for sexual assault forensic kits and the billing of
Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) exams; and
5. To identify other issues regarding SANE programs.
An informal survey conducted by the AG SART in May of 2014 revealed that there were more
than 6,000 unsubmitted sexual assault kits residing in the custody of local law enforcement.
Eighty-percent of these kits are being held in ten counties located across the state:

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 There exist a number of reasons why sexual assault kits may not have been submitted to
the WSCL and may reside with local agencies. Some of those reasons include:
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The case may have been resolved without the need to test the evidence in the kit;
Criminal justice professionals did not see the need for testing because the issue in the
case was not identification;
The victim may have chosen not to participate in the criminal justice system;
Wisconsin s. 968.205 (2) requires law enforcement agencies to retain biological
evidence until any person convicted of an offense has completed his or her term of
incarceration and any period of extended supervised release, unless a number of postconviction steps are taken to gain permission for destruction. This may cause
agencies to retain kits that, though unsubmitted, are connected to a conviction and are
retained for very long periods of time until the full discharge of the defendant.

Regardless of the reasons above, Wisconsin has taken action to ensure those kits that
should be submitted to the WSCL are submitted while respecting the rights of victims. In FY15,
Wisconsin Department of Justice received BJA SAKI grant funds to develop a comprehensive,

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 statewide initiative to address the state’s backlog of unsubmitted sexual assault kits and to
enhance the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases, while achieving the long-term
goal of improving the criminal justice response to cases of sexual assault. The AG SART has
laid the groundwork by collecting preliminary data on the number of unsubmitted kits
throughout the state, developing a prioritization protocol for submitting these kits, and
formalizing a procedure for sexual assault victims to have evidence collected without making an
immediate report to law enforcement. Wisconsin will build upon this work and move forward by
implementing a statewide sexual assault response strategy centered on the three elements of the
BJA model: performance of an inventory of unsubmitted SAKs statewide; creation of a
multidisciplinary working group; and designating a Site Coordinator.
Progress and Deliverables of 2015 SAKI Grants
In September of 2015, the WI DOJ was awarded two $2 million grants, one from the
Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and one from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office
(DANY). With this funding:
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Approximately 2,500 unsubmitted kits will undergo the initial DNA testing as well as a
technical review and any profiles will be uploaded to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index
System (CODIS). Data will be collected to determine how many unsubmitted kits were
sent for DNA testing, how many DNA profiles from forensic analyses were entered into
CODIS from the kits sent for testing, and how many CODIS hits resulted from these
unsubmitted kits.

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A multidisciplinary sexual assault response team (DOJ SART - BJA Model Element 2)
was created within the WI DOJ. This team will offer additional resources to jurisdictions
around the state to ensure adequate follow-up for investigations and prosecutions that
result from evidence related to testing of unsubmitted sexual assault kits.

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Any victim notification or re-engagement required of a case that the DOJ SART is
involved with will include collaboration, input, and guidance from the team’s Victim
Services Specialist.

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DOJ will collaborate with the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA) to
develop a public service campaign to alert sexual assault survivors who previously chose
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 not to report their assault to law enforcement, that they can have their kit sent to the
WSCL should they choose to do so.
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Members of the DOJ SART will provide training in relation to sexual assault evidence
collection, timely submission of all sexual assault kits to the WSCL, DNA technology,
and other related topics to improve the quality of outcomes of sexual assault
investigations and prosecutions.

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Data will be collected to evaluate and analyze systemic factors that contributed to the
accumulation of the unsubmitted sexual assault kits around the state.
DOJ received state approval to create the grant-funded positions for the DOJ SART in

February, 2016, and the recruiting process began. The Victim Services Specialist, two Division
of Criminal Investigation Agents, and the Data Analyst will begin in May of 2016. The team’s
Assistant Attorney General position should be filled shortly thereafter.
In December of 2015, the SAKI TTA team provided data collection parameters to SAKI
grant sites to develop a complete, detailed inventory of unsubmitted sexual assault kits that
would need to be certified by BJA. DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Information and Analysis took
these data collection parameters and combined them with other data collection metrics that
would be required throughout the life of the grant. DOJ’s SAKI data collection tool was
completed in February of 2016 and distributed to law enforcement agencies around the state.
With over 400 local jurisdictions, this inventory process has been a substantial undertaking.
Local law enforcement agencies around the state are now performing comprehensive inventories
of unsubmitted sexual assault kits in their possession (BJA Model Element 1). Information
detailed in this inventory (attached) includes:
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Agency report number
Date of the offense
Date the SAK was collected
Date the SAK came into the law enforcement agency’s possession
Whether or not the victim reported the sexual assault to law enforcement
Age of the victim at the time of the assault
When the statute of limitations will expire
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 
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The primary reason the SAK was not previously submitted to the WSCL for
testing
Whether or not the SAK would be submitted to the WSCL now; if not, an
explanation of why not

Once the inventory is complete (in the next few months) and certified by BJA, the WSCL will
establish a timeline and process to coordinate submission of the unsubmitted kits from law
enforcement agencies so that an all-inclusive testing strategy can be implemented. Victim
engagement and notification is an essential aspect of this strategy and includes collaborating with
community-based sexual assault service providers who can work with investigators as they
pursue leads associated with evidence from previously unsubmitted SAKs.
DOJ has made strides in implementing the FY15 SAKI project in the first six months of the
grant cycle. Addressing the issue of unsubmitted kits as a comprehensive, statewide initiative is
no small task, but the development of a SAKI Workgroup comprised of agency leadership to
strategically implement the grant goals will ensure our success.

This FY16 proposal represents

an effort to further enhance Wisconsin’s existing Statewide Sexual Assault Kit Initiative and
allocate much-needed resources to local sexual assault service providers, and increase the
WSCL’s storage capacity.
Justification for Additional Funding:
Local Sexual Assault Service Providers
1. While, at the state level, the grant-funded Victim Services Specialist is an integral part of
the DOJ SART, providing valuable insight and guidance to ensure that all activities of the team
are victim-centered and trauma-informed, the position is limited in the scope of services that it is
able to provide. Sexual assault survivors may need long-term, continued support and advocacy
services, substantially increasing the number of past and current survivors of sexual assault
seeking services from community-based sexual assault service providers. According to the
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 Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s (WCASA) most recent “Burden of Sexual
Violence in Wisconsin Report,” 1 sexual assault service providers around the state provided
advocacy services to 13,346 sexual assault victims in that particular year. While areas with a
larger population will have larger agencies serving more clients and smaller agencies will serve
fewer clients, if services were distributed equally to the 51 service providers in the state, each
provider would average approximately 262 clients served per year. Clearly, sexual assault
service provides are already functioning at or near capacity for the existing staff that they have.
Even a 10% increase in requests for services could strain a program. To build on the foundation
of DOJ’s FY15 SAKI project and truly make this a comprehensive initiative, committed to
ensuring the provision of victim services and connecting survivors to essential resources, we
need to enhance the capacity of sexual assault service providers around the state to serve an
increased number of victims with the unique advocacy and justice needs that arise when
previously unsubmitted kits are tested.
2. Regarding the inventory, when asked whether or not the SAK would be submitted to
the WSCL now, there were only four options provided as to why a SAK would not be submitted
at this time:
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1

Kits being held as a result of section 968.205(2) of the Wisconsin statutes
(because the offender’s DNA would have been taken upon arrest or conviction)
Kits associated with cases in which a “not guilty” verdict was rendered at trial
Kits where the victim did not make a report to police, thus not consenting to have
the kit tested and the suspect was known to the victim
Kits where the victim did not make a report to police, thus not consenting to have
the kit tested and the suspect was unknown to the victim

www.wcasa.org/pages/Data_Burden-of-Sexual-Violence-in-Wisconsin-Report-2010.php

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 Despite the instructions to only select one of these four options, several law enforcement
agencies cited other reasons for not submitting a kit to the WSCL. These reasons included, but
were not limited to:
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Victim uncooperative
Victim not credible
Victim unreliable
Victim recanted
Victim too intoxicated to remember what happened
Consensual sex between prison guard and inmate
Suspect admitted to sexual contact
No crime occurred

These replies are unsettling. For hundreds of cases, the victim was described as uncooperative,
not credible, or unreliable. For officers or detectives who haven’t received training in the
Neurobiology of Trauma, they may misinterpret symptoms of trauma as indicators of
untruthfulness. In situations where the victim recanted, was that because a detective accused
them of being uncooperative or unreliable? Did the victim have the opportunity to receive
support from an advocate before recanting? Again, the possible scenarios of how the victim may
have been treated are frightening. While it may be somewhat justifiable that these were their
initial reasons for not submitting a kit, it’s disturbing that, even after specifically asking them to
send these kits, they still have a negative view of their experience with the victim.
From this information obtained through the inventory process, it is quite obvious that
some jurisdictions are in dire need of cross-training with their multidisciplinary partners to
ensure all participants/disciplines are prepared to respond to the evidence emerging from
unsubmitted kits in a trauma-informed, victim-centered manner. This will include establishing
evidence-based, victim-centered protocols and policies that address victim engagement,
notification, and support. Community-based sexual assault service providers are an integral part
of this process.
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 Wisconsin State Crime Lab Storage Capacity
In addition to establishing a process to test unsubmitted SAKs, the AG SART has
developed a procedure for victims of sexual assault to receive a medical forensic exam with the
collection of evidence but to have the evidence stored at the WSCL for a period of ten years,
which is the statute of limitations for second and third degree sexual assault in Wisconsin, while
the victim decides whether to engage the services of law enforcement in the investigation of the
assault. This allows victims the time to work through the trauma of their assault while ensuring
the collection of evidence in a timely manner. DOJ recently amended the administrative rules
governing the submission of sexual assault kits, allowing hospitals to submit kits directly to the
WSCL so that law enforcement agencies do not have to take custody of kits that aren’t associated
with a police report. Not only does this give a sexual assault victim more options for having
evidence collected, it will also help prevent any future accumulation of unsubmitted kits in the
custody of law enforcement because they don’t know what to do with the kit. This new process,
along with submission of all of the unsubmitted sexual assault kits around the state, will require
significant storage space at the WI State Crime Laboratory.
Project Design and Implementation:
Local Sexual Assault Service Providers
Through this victim-centered proposal, the State of Wisconsin seeks to enhance services and
support for past and current victims of sexual assault by increasing the capacity of communitybased sexual assault service providers to engage in trauma-informed notification,
communication, and support activities. Sexual assault has a profound impact on every aspect of
a survivor’s existence. If, as a society, we expect survivors to come forward and report their
assault, we need to ensure that we are equipped and ready to provide them with whatever

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 supportive services they need when they do. While this may include legal advocacy while they
navigate the criminal justice system, that’s just one aspect of their experience. Long after an
investigation closes or court case is dismissed, a sexual assault survivor may still need support.
Simply hearing a news story or a public service announcement regarding DOJ’s SAKI efforts
could re-traumatize a survivor, prompting them to reach out for advocacy services.
Community-based advocates are employees of local, non-profit organizations whose
primary purpose is to provide services to victims of sexual assault regardless of whether or not
the victim is involved with the criminal justice process. Under Wisconsin Statute, communitybased advocates have privilege and their communications with victims are confidential. This is
one important difference between community-based advocates and other system-based
advocates. And unlike most other justice system based disciplines, community-based advocates’
response and relationship to the victim can continue long after the case is resolved.
On April 11, 2016, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed the Victim Accompaniment
Bill into law. The major provision of this law is that a victim of sexual assault, human
trafficking, or child sexual abuse has the right to be accompanied by a victim advocate during
any sexual assault examination or consultation at a hospital or any law enforcement or
prosecution interview. In the context of this law, a victim advocate is an “individual who is an
employee of or a volunteer for an organization the purpose of which is to provide counseling,
assistance, or support services free of charge to a victim.”
The role of a community-based advocate in response to sexual assault is crucial. There
is no other discipline whose primary function is to advocate for the interest and wants of the
victim. Published in March of 2015, “Sexual Assault Victims’ Experiences of Notification after a
CODIS Hit,” a report to the Houston Sexual Assault Kit Action Research Working Group

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 reinforces the commitment of the DOJ SART to incorporate victim advocacy services and
support into the overall SAKI initiative. According to the report, all victims: appreciated the
support and help of the advocate; commended the sensitive, compassionate, flexible, and caring
treatment from investigators at the time of the current notification; and appreciated the choice
and opportunity to participate in their cases moving forward.
Grant funds awarded through this solicitation will be distributed, as sub-grants, to
community-based sexual assault service providers in each of the ten counties with the highest
number of unsubmitted SAKs as reported in the AG SART’s May 2014 survey (see attached
map). Funds will be awarded equally to service providers in nine counties with Milwaukee
County receiving an increased amount as they account for close to half of the un-submitted kits
in the state. SAKI subgrants will support personnel costs for sexual assault service providers,
including hiring and overtime, to allow adequate time to:
 Collaborate with local law enforcement to engage in victim-centered notification,
communication, and support activities related to previously unsubmitted sexual
assault kits.
 Provide direct services to and support for past and current victims of sexual
assault
 Provide cross-training to multidisciplinary partners on the “Medical Forensic
Exam with Evidence Collection: Information and Options” form and procedure,
ensuring that victims consistently receive proper notification of their options in a
trauma-informed manner.
 Provide updates and information to their community’s sexual assault response
team on emerging issues related to the testing of unsubmitted sexual assault kits
 Work with their community’s sexual assault response team to implement and/or
establish evidence-based, victim-centered protocols and policies that address
sexual assault kit evidence collection, testing, and victim accompaniment during
law enforcement interviews or hospital exams.
 Coordinate training for multidisciplinary team on the trauma impact on victims
and how this may affect reporting
Each subgrantee will be required to participate in monthly phone calls with the DOJ
SART’s Site Coordinator and Victim Services Specialist to discuss status of their program goals
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 and victim advocacy efforts. These phone calls will provide an opportunity for advocates to
support each other and connect their local SAKI efforts to the statewide SAKI efforts. WCASA
staff will also participate in some of the update calls to gather information on lessons learned,
best practices, and appropriate resources to be shared with community-based, sexual assault
service providers around the state.
Wisconsin State Crime Lab Storage Capacity
In the past, when sexual assault survivors wanted evidence collected but didn’t want to
report to the law enforcement, there was not a standard, statewide procedure for storage of the
SAK. In some jurisdictions the hospital stored the kit. In other jurisdictions a law enforcement
agency would store the kit in their evidence room but wouldn’t take a report. And in other
jurisdictions, collecting evidence without making a report wasn’t even an option.
To formalize the process the AG SART created the “Medical Forensic Exam with
Evidence Collection: Information and Options” form and procedure. When presenting to an
emergency room for services, a sexual assault victim will be informed of three options available:
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The victim does not want evidence collected and does not want to make a report to
law enforcement. She/he just wants a medical exam.

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The victim wants evidence collected and wants to report the incident to law
enforcement.

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The victim is unsure if she/he wants to make a report to law enforcement but wants
evidence collected and stored for up to ten years while making their decision. The
victim acknowledges by selecting this option that their personal identifying
information will be sealed and stored with the evidence at the Wisconsin State Crime
Laboratory and that this personal identifying information will not be released to law
enforcement without her/his consent. The victim also acknowledges that if she/he
decides to report the crime to law enforcement, that it is their responsibility to contact
law enforcement. In addition, the victim is notified that if they chose not to make a
report within the 10 year statute of limitations, that the WSCL will destroy the
evidence from their medical forensic exam without any further notification.

DOJ recently amended the administrative rules governing the submission of sexual assault kits,
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 allowing hospitals to submit kits directly to the WSCL so that law enforcement agencies do not
have to take custody of kits that aren’t associated with a police report. Not only does this give a
sexual assault victim more options for having evidence collected, it will also help prevent any
future accumulation of unsubmitted kits in the custody of law enforcement.
To accommodate this new process, along with submission of all of the unsubmitted
sexual assault kits around the state, the WSCL will need to expand their current space to store
these SAKs for a long period of time. As there is currently no space within the Crime Lab for
this storage, this expansion will include:
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Rental of additional space
Bringing the space up to code
Determine square footage for freezer (approximately 30’x30’) and small office
Conversion space to accommodate needs of WSCL
Purchase of a walk-in freezer
Installation a fire suppression system
Ensuring emergency power for freezer
Installation of a card reader on outside of freezer door
Ensuring temperature monitoring of freezer

Capabilities and Competencies: The Wisconsin Department of Justice is uniquely equipped to
implement multidisciplinary sexual assault response team policies and procedures on a statewide
level as it houses the Division of Criminal Investigation, the Office of Crime Victim Services,
the Division of Legal Services, the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, and the Bureau of Justice
Information and Analysis. In addition, a statewide Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE)
Coordinator is employed by the Department to assist with training new SANE nurses and
providing technical assistance to existing SANE programs.
DOJ’s SART, funded by a FY15 SAKI grant, will provide oversight and guidance to the
subgrantees through Site Coordinator Keeley Crowley and the Victim Services Specialist on the
team. Ms. Crowley co-authored the FY15 SAKI grant application and has been actively

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 involved as the Site Coordinator since September of 2015. A Grant Support Specialist – Senior
with DOJ’s Office of Crime Victim Services, she is the responsible for staffing the AG SART,
coordinating statewide trainings for law enforcement on responding to sexual assault and
domestic violence cases, and providing administrative support for the state’s Violence Against
Women Act (VAWA) grants.
Prior to her employment with the state, Ms. Crowley served as the director of a countywide, community-based sexual assault program. Her experience includes: providing direct
services to survivors, coordinating a community Sexual Assault Response Team; providing
professional training and community education on sexual assault dynamics and related issues;
extensive collaboration with members of law enforcement, prosecutors, and sexual assault nurse
examiners, and grant writing and reporting. A past member of WCASA’s Board of Directors,
Keeley will be serving as the Site Coordinator for this grant as well. (BJA Model Element 3).
DOJ’s Office of Crime Victim Services administers the federal VAWA and Victims of
Crime Act (VOCA) grants as well as the state Sexual Assault Victim Services grants, which
provides extensive opportunities to collaborate with sexual assault service providers around the
state as well as the WCASA. All of the community-based sexual assault service providers
poised to receive subgrants through this solicitation receive at least one of these grants
administered by DOJ so have proven themselves as quality service providers and responsible
subgrantees. In addition, they are all recognized as sexual assault service providers by WCASA.
DOJ is also the State Administering Agency (SAA) for a number of state and federal
criminal justice grant funds including the federal Justice Assistance Grant and Residential
Substance Abuse Treatment programs. DOJ provides financial and technical assistance to public
safety, criminal justice agencies, local and tribal governments, and non-profit organizations

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 throughout the state. This relationship allows for an efficient collaboration that is well positioned
to coordinate this project with other federal and state funding sources. Matt Raymer, Justice
Programs Supervisor, has over 15 years’ experience in managing and administering BJA-funded
federal grant programs and initiatives.
DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Information and Analysis (BJIA) is responsible for conducting
research, analysis, and program evaluation to support policy development. The BJIA also serves
as the Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) for the State of Wisconsin and oversees the Wisconsin
Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. As a research partner, BJIA has provided a data
analyst to collaborate with the DOJ SART to develop methods and processes for the collection,
analysis, and sharing of critical programmatic data. The research analyst will also assist the AG
SART in evaluating the systemic factors that contributed to the accumulation of 6,000
unsubmitted sexual assault kits in Wisconsin. The research analyst will work with the AG SART
to implement strategies and protocols to address these concerns in communities around the state,
especially those who had a significant number of unsubmitted kits in their possession.
WCASA, Wisconsin’s statewide sexual assault Coalition, provides technical assistance
and training to 51 sexual assault service providers around the state. WCASA Executive Director
Pennie Meyers has served on DOJ’s AG SART since its inception in December of 2012.
WCASA was proud to support DOJ’s FY15 SAKI project and has joined DOJ again to secure
funding for community-based sexual assault service providers and the victims that they serve.
Plan for Collecting the Data Required for Performance Measures: The Site Coordinator will
coordinate communication between the SAKI Workgroup, the AG SART, and the BJA training
and technical assistance (TTA) provider. DOJ’s BJIA is the research partner funded under the
FY15 BJA SAKI grant, and will continue to generate monthly reports on the work of the

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 Initiative in connection with this proposal. The Wisconsin Department of Justice, as the SAA for
JAG and other federal BJA grants, has experience with BJA’s Performance Measurement Tool
(PMT) and will actively promote retention and reporting of data that is needed for this Statewide
Grant.
Subgrantees will submit quarterly reports through “Egrants,” DOJ’s web-based grant
management system. Reporting metrics may include, but are not limited to:
 victim demographics such as age, race/ethnicity, geographic area of residence, whether or
not they reported their assault to law enforcement, whether or not they had a sexual
assault forensic exam
 number of instances of personal, legal, medical, or financial advocacy provided to a
sexual assault survivor
 number of advocacy collaborations with a sexual assault nurse examiner to discuss
reporting options or accompany a victim through a forensic exam
 number of advocacy collaborations with law enforcement to provide notification to
victims related to the investigation of a case related of an unsubmitted sexual assault kit
 number of advocacy collaborations with a prosecutor to provide notification to victims
related to the prosecution of a case related to an unsubmitted sexual assault kit
 victim self-reporting of their experience with law enforcement, sexual assault nurse
examiner, or prosecutor
 number of cross-training events participated in with community partners
The SAKI Grant Site Coordinator will compile these reports to submit aggregate data to BJA to
fulfill any required reporting.

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