South Carolina is getting some federal help in addressing its high domestic violence rate. The state is receiving a $900,000 federal grant, state attorney general Henry McMaster and U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn announced Monday.

The money will hire three prosecutors who will do nothing but prosecute domestic violence cases in seven rural counties in the Pee Dee. It will also provide three court advocates to help victims, and hire and train a bilingual immigrant outreach coordinator to serve the growing Hispanic community.

The S.C. Baptist Convention will also be involved, training clergy to spot signs of domestic violence within their congregations and communities. Pastors may provide counseling and let victims know about services available. "I think we're going to improve that system of connecting these folks with those that can best help them," says Roger Acton with the convention.

"In the areas that this grant focuses on, the need is desperate," says Vicki Bourus, director of the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. SCCADVASA will recruit, train and supervise the court advocates and the bilingual coordinator.

The area the grant focuses on is Chesterfield, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Marion, Marlboro and Williamsburg counties. In 2002, Marion County had the highest per capita rate of domestic violence in the state. In 2003, it was 4th, Marlboro was 5th and Darlington was 6th.

McMaster says the problem is that most domestic violence cases are handled in magistrate and municipal courts, where there are no prosecutors to handle the cases.

"What the defendants know today, and sadly what the victims know today, is that there is no justice available for these cases because there is no prosecutor," McMaster says. He says many times the cases are dismissed when there is no prosecutor or victim to show up. But once these dedicated prosecutors are on the job, the result will be a lot of guilty pleas, he says.

Congressman Clyburn says this is a "demonstration grant", so if it's successful it's likely to spread to other parts of the state and the nation.

But are three prosecutors enough to put a dent in the state's high rate of domestic violence?   

"Well, I think it's a start," says Bourus. "I think there's just a lot to do in South Carolina, but this pours resources into a very high-risk area. So I'm hoping that, at least in that region, we'll see a drop in the number of deaths and injuries."

The new prosecutors will also work with private lawyers who volunteer to prosecute domestic violence cases, a program the attorney general's office started two years ago.