Overview
As previously noted, during our audit, we determined that the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA) complied with Section 4(a) of Chapter 258B of the Massachusetts General Laws by making sure it printed information on victim and witness rights and services and making this information available to social service agencies, medical facilities, and law enforcement agencies. In addition to printing it, MOVA also made the information available on its website. Section 4 of Chapter 258B of the General Laws also requires MOVA to do the following:
b. Assist hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities, whether public or private, in disseminating information giving notice of the rights established under this chapter. This assistance may include providing informational materials including posters suitable to be displayed in emergency and waiting rooms;
c. Assist law enforcement agencies in familiarizing all of their officers and employees with the crime victims' rights as provided under this chapter. This assistance may include supplying informational literature on this subject to be utilized as part of the training curriculum for all trainee officers.
Although MOVA kept track of the organizations that requested and received printed information about victim and witness rights and services, in performing our testing regarding Objective 1, we found that MOVA did not maintain a complete and up-to-date list of all the Massachusetts organizations that would benefit from having this information. In the Office of the State Auditor’s (OSA’s) opinion, MOVA should maintain a complete and up-to-date list of all organizations that may need information about victim and witness rights and services. OSA believes that such a list would be a valuable management tool in facilitating effective outreach and making sure that MOVA can contact these organizations to help provide the information.
| Date published: | March 4, 2022 |
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