Cape and Islands DA Galibois welcomes boost in budget, opening door for new initiatives

Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois says the Legislature's decision to boost his office's fiscal 2024 budget will allow him to "breathe a little easier."

"This money will go a long way," said Galibois in a telephone interview. "It will enable us to provide much more — in terms of services to our community."

The House of Representatives approved a $5.9 million budget in May. But after significant lobbying efforts from Sen. Julian Cyr and Sen. Susan Moran, the Senate approved a $350,000 increase for the District Attorney Office's fiscal year 2024 budget. The Ways and Means Committee endorsed that increase, said Galibois, and his office will now receive $6.3 million for fiscal year 2024.

The increase will allow Galibois to hire a chief for his office's child protection and human trafficking unit; continue a part-time communications position; and clear the way for expanding information technology. The bolstered budget will also create training opportunities for an assistant district attorney to learn how to run a mental health court for Barnstable County.

Historically, said Cyr, Cape Cod and the Islands have not received their fair share of resources. Part of the problem was the "old school" nature of the District Attorney Office's prior administration that didn't take advantage of opportunities for innovative programs and polices related to racial justice initiatives and reducing recidivism.

"We now have a district attorney who wants to make sure we are doing everything we can to see people out of the criminal justice system," said Cyr, D-Truro. "Now that we have Rob in place, we are getting into the weeds of actually doing this work. He needs to be appropriately funded."

Former Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe announced he was leaving office in January 2022.

Child protection and human trafficking programs can expand with new funding

As soon as Galibois learned about the budget increase, he hired Vanessa Madge as chief of the child protection and human trafficking unit. Madge, assistant attorney general for the state's Attorney General's Office, has also worked at the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office as a superior court prosecutor, said Galibois.

"She will be in charge of all child abuse cases and any and all human trafficking cases as they come in," he said. "This is a big score. I'm very excited to get her."

Madge will also work with Orleans Chief of Police Scott MacDonald, who is currently leading a charge against human trafficking on Cape, said Galibois.

"Scott is doing a great job at job bringing issues surrounding human trafficking to all (police) departments on the Cape and Islands," said Galibois. "He is trying to get each department to commit a representative to this issue. He also plans to start trainings."

Madge will also work with local organizations like Cape Cod People Against Trafficking Humans or Cape Cod PATH.

Mental health court will be a reality on Cape and Islands, says Galibois

After a mental health court was approved by Massachusetts Trial Court, Galibois appointed Shaunna Souve as the mental health prosecutor for his office. The additional money helped to send Souve to Plymouth County to observe mental health sessions and work alongside prosecutors to gain an understanding of what a mental health session is like.

In Galibois' opinion, the opening of a mental health court session was the idea that resonated most with the public during his campaign for district attorney in 2023.

"Everywhere I went, folks wanted to learn more about the session and were considerably interested in having this specialty session available to our residents," he said. "This will be a very out in front role for the office."

Part time communications position will continue

When Galibois took office, he said he inherited a significant deficiency in the fiscal year 2023 budget. When former Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe left office, many assistant district attorneys and other staff followed. O'Keefe gave those individuals payouts for accrued vacation and sick time. Cyr worked to plug that gap, he said, by providing a $200,000 supplemental appropriation for the 2023 fiscal year budget.

That additional funding allowed Galibois to hire Margot Cahoon on a part-time basis. Cahoon has been leading communications and public records efforts for the district attorney's office and will also compile an annual report, which will help fulfill Galibois' campaign commitment to transparency, he said.

"I hired Margo hoping that when I got my fiscal year 24 budget, that it would be above what we were traditionally getting," he said. "We took a little bit of a risk. But it worked out."

Technology will help Galibois tell the world what the DA is doing

During O'Keefe's reign as district attorney, a webpage was never put into place. But for Galibois, it's essential for his office to communicate with the community.

"We want to launch a website so we actually put stuff out there into the world," he said.

Michael Barrows, information technology director for the district attorney's office, is currently reviewing options for website creators, said Galibois, and will help launch a forward-facing public website as soon as possible, he said.

"We are trying to figure out how we can get this up and running before end of this year - that’s the goal," he said.

Is there longevity for budget increase on the Cape and Islands?

When Cyr looks at overall funding for the district attorney's office, he said fiscal year 2024's amount is very likely to be sustained in the future.

"We will continue to push on incremental increases so we can maintain funding and further expand funding," he said. "This funding will allow the district attorney's office to pursue criminal justice reforms, public safety, work to reduce recidivism, and will work to fund staff who will make a difference on the Cape and Islands. This is certainly money that will be put to good use in this relatively new administration."

Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape and Islands DA has hired a chief for child protection unit