Michigan State University says it has established a permanent fund to provide counseling and mental health services for survivors of sexual assault.
MSU created the Healing Assistance Fund in 2017 to reimburse survivors of Larry Nassar for out-of-pocket treatment services. Nassar is the former MSU sports doctor now imprisoned for hundreds of sexual assaults. Six months later, MSU suspended the fund in the wake of evidence of fraudulent claims.
Now, Board of Trustees chair Dianne Byrum says a contractor will run the new permanent fund.
“This is their business,” says Byrum. “So all of those security issues survivors had concerns about will be handled with this new third-party administrator.”
Byrum says counseling and mental health services fund will be available starting in September.