BILLINGS, Mont. — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today recognized Joan Eliel, Investigator/Program Specialist with the Montana Department of Justice for receiving one of three 2016 Outstanding Crime Victim Advocate of the Year Awards.
Daines’ recognition in the Congressional Record is available here.
Through his “Montanan of the Week” initiative, Daines each week will highlight a Montanan by submitting a statement of recognition in the official Congressional Record, the document that reflects the official proceedings of Congress.
Daines welcomes anyone to nominate fellow Montanans for Daines’ “Montanan of the Week” program by calling Daines’ office at 202-224-2651 or by filling out the contact form on Daines’ website: http://www.daines.senate.gov/connect/email-steve
The following is the statement submitted to the Congressional Record:
MONTANAN OF THE WEEK
Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I would like to recognize Joan Eliel, Investigator/Program Specialist with the Montana Department of Justice for receiving one of three 2016 Outstanding Crime Victim Advocate of the Year Awards. Joan is a dedicated public servant who has been a key DOJ employee for Attorney General McGrath, Bullock and Fox covering 14 years.
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Court Chief Judge, Winona Tanner nominated Joan for the Outstanding Victim Advocate Award due to her leadership as program administrator for Montana’s Project Passport, End of Life Registry, and Address Confidentiality Programs. Joan is currently piloting two national projects including the Hope Card Project which helps victims of protection order violations on the local, Tribal, State and Federal level. Matthew Dale, Director of the Office of Consumer Protection and Victim Services stated that Joan’s work, “…is a national model of how Native Americans, the state and the federal government can work together to keep victims safe and hold offenders accountable.”
Joan is a true innovator and had dedicated her life to making positive and lasting changes for the victims of domestic violence. I am truly honored to be able to recognize Joan as Montanan of the Week for those efforts. Joan is married and the mother of 2 children and resides in Townsend, MT in Broadwater County.
Thank you Joan for your service, not only to the people of Montana, but our entire nation. I look forward to hearing about the next innovative work you will lead on and the success of your current projects.
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