State now working on aid to Parkland victims

As the numbing reality of the mass killing at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School set in on the night of Feb. 14, state Attorney General Pam Bondi stood in front of Fox News cameras and made promises.

“We will pay for the funeral expenses of these poor victims, [and] do everything we can to help their families,” Bondi said. “We will pay for counseling for the surviving victims. We will pay for students who need counseling.”

How many victims will ask Bondi’s office to pay for those expenses remains to be seen. Some might decide to use donations raised in dozens of GoFundMe campaigns created for specific victims and their families. Others might wait and use their share of millions of dollars raised by the Broward Education Foundation, after that money is distributed this summer.

But a month after the shootings, the Attorney General’s Office’s Bureau of Victim Compensation has so far paid just $15,000 for two funerals, and information provided by Bondi’s office reveals that victims will have to wade through considerable bureaucracy to keep Bondi to the promises she made on that terrible night.

Before the office will send money, victims must fill out claim forms and submit personal information, copies of police reports and details about their insurance policies, and then be prepared to gather numerous medical and financial records, according to application details on Bondi’s website.