PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The Pinellas County Commission voted to end its annual contract with the Suncoast Center, which provides 24/7 access to sexual assault evidence collection kits.

“Something needs to change so that the survivors can continue to receive the services that they need,” said Karen Yatchum, director of Pinellas County’s human services.

County commissioners are asking local hospitals to step up in order to offer the same service.

“I think these victims need a good, reliable, comfortable place that’s going to treat them the way they need to be treated, collect the evidence that needs to be collected and processed swiftly,” said commissioner Kathleen Peters.

The contract termination passed in Tuesday’s commission meeting, but on Monday they held a closed-door discussion meeting about the change.

“What we heard a lot yesterday in the community meeting is having that trauma-informed approach is a really, really, really big part of this work,” said Yatchum.

Yatchum says hospital representatives told her they were working to find ways to implement the service. Yatchum added that county law enforcement were less keen on the idea of decentralizing their evidence collection sites.

“I spoke with the Assistant Chief Deputy on Monday and I would say they are not on board with all of the hospitals taking over their [Suncoast Center’s] responsibility because of how complicated it creates a situation for their investigations,” said Yatchum.

8 On Your Side reached out to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office about it. Cpl. Jamie Miller sent a statement on behalf of PCSO saying:

“Our interest is to ensure that sexual assault victims receive appropriate services and that we can effectively collect evidence to hold perpetrators of these heinous crimes accountable. We look forward to those responsible for conducting sexual assault exams determining a permanent funding stream that provides effective exams in a compassionate setting.”

8 On Your Side also reached out to the Suncoast Center for comment. We did not immediately hear back.