May 15, 2002 – The future of family crisis services on St. John is expected to receive an unprecedented measure of support from the V.I. government shortly. But the agency which has provided much of the financial aid to the Safety Zone says the infusion of funds can't cure what it calls sloppy administrative practices that kept the organization from getting federal funds it was entitled to.
A few weeks ago, the executive director of the Safety Zone said it was in danger of closing for lack of funds. Now, Iris Kern says she is waiting for the delivery of $100,000 appropriated by the Legislature and approved by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull. "We are expecting some money, but we haven't seen it," she said Tuesday.
The Safety Zone is one of three not-for-profit agencies serving victims of domestic violence on St. Thomas and St. John that found themselves in a particularly tight financial bind this spring. Family Resource Center, based on St. Thomas, also found relief in the Legislature, where lawmakers voted to rescind budget cuts imposed for Fiscal Year 2002. The future of KidsCope, also on St. Thomas, remains uncertain.
The Safety Zone, unlike the St. Thomas agencies and the Women's Coalition of St. Croix, has relied primarily of federal funding to support its operations, through the Law Enforcement Planning Commission. LEPC administrators and Safety Zone leaders are in dispute over record keeping.
Kern acknowledges that some federal funds were denied because she was late in submitting a grant application earlier this year — but she also accuses LEPC of holding up funds for her agency from the federal Victims of Crime Act. LEPC administrators say they have had a hard time getting Safety Zone officials to open their books for inspection.
Both sides say the situation has become chaotic. Two weeks ago, a team of federal auditors contacted Kern about reviewing the Safety Zone financial records. "We have been scheduled for an audit," she said. "They called; we're waiting." She said the auditors have not yet been able to settle on a suitable date to make their visit.
A few days after getting the phone call from the auditors, the Safety Zone sent LEPC a set of records that grants administrator Meridith Nelsen described as a disorganized set of papers covering random dates. "Some of the documents submitted don't correspond to the dates that the federal grants in question were awarded," he said. Still, he added, "It's not accurate, but it's a step in the right direction."
Kern suggests the problem lies with LEPC, which she said is awarding grant money from previous grant cycles. "LEPC is 'way behind in the spending of money," she said.
Nelsen says Kern wrote a letter to the Legislature last year asking for an audit of LEPC. He says that's fine, because the agency already is audited by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
He says LEPC does not want to see victims of domestic violence and other crimes suffer as a result of being cut off from assistance from agencies such as the Safety Zone. But, he adds, concerns about the St. John agency's financial affairs were running so deep in recent weeks that there were internal discussions about diverting clients in need of assistance to other agencies.
The Safety Zone's submission of records to LEPC will not keep the auditors from conducting their inspection — one of several expected to take place at agencies receiving grants through LEPC, Nelsen said.
For now, Kern says, the Safety Zone can keep its doors open, provided that the V.I. government comes through with the $100,000 appropriation. She says she expects some of the money will go to pay her salary and that another portion is needed immediately to cover the agency's rent.

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