A pilot program this fall is expected to link, by video conferencing, Trident Technical College in North Charleston with the parole board's hearing room in Columbia.

Advocates say it will end hours of travel time and reduce stress on victims and their families.

"It's been a inconvenience for those who have to keep coming and coming for hearings for violent offenders serving long prison terms," said Pete O'Boyle, spokes-man for the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

The program was part of a sweeping probation reform bill passed by the Legislature this year and signed by Gov. Mark Sanford.

Sanford will be in Charleston today to recreate the bill-signing. He'll be joined by local law enforcement and victim advocates, including Joanna Katz, a rape victim from Charleston who was instrumental in pushing the legislation.

Trident Tech, already wired for teleconferencing, will provide space every Wednesday and several Tuesdays during the year for victims and their families to talk to the parole board.

Felons already address the parole board via video links from where they are being held.

Local crime victims still could drive to Columbia to speak to the parole board in person, which many families seem to prefer.

"They want to face the parole board eye to eye," said Teri Porcel, victim witness coordinator for the 9th Circuit Solicitor's Office for Charleston and Berkeley counties.

"Personal contact is more effective."

The Legislature provided no funding for the program, meaning the school and the parole department must find the money, probably through grants, said Ginger Norvell, vice president for advancement at Trident Tech.

One expense will be paying a trained staff person to handle Trident Tech's end of the video connection.

Another requirement of the law is that the parole board let victims and their families know whether an inmate has been recommended for denial or approval, so they can plan.

Criminals involved in the same violent act will have their parole hearings grouped together.

Today's bill-signing ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. in the second-floor grand courtroom of the Charleston County Courthouse, 84 Broad St.

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