Latest news with #VictimsofCrimeAct
Axios
03-07-2025
- Axios
NWA nonprofits grapple with federal victim aid reductions
Northwest Arkansas nonprofits are facing budget concerns because of a depleted federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) fund, and the region stands to receive a disproportionately low amount of grant money compared to other parts of the state. Why it matters: The organizations at risk provide services to domestic violence and child sex abuse victims, some of NWA's most vulnerable populations. State of play: Just under $7 million is available in total for Arkansas for October 2025 through September 2026, compared to $13 million four years ago, according to documents on the state Department of Finance and Administration's website. Case in point: Springdale-based Peace at Home Family Shelter, which offers emergency shelter, counseling and legal services for domestic violence victims, received $1 million a year prior to 2021, executive director Teresa Mills told Axios. But the most any organization can apply for this year is $250,000, according to the state. Peace at Home has launched an endowment campaign to try to make up for the shortfall, and other organizations are also ramping up fundraising and applying for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission's new Community Assistance Grant Program. VOCA funding accounts for about 17% of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Northwest Arkansas' $1.7 million budget, and the organization anticipates losing the funding will hurt its ability to serve children in foster care, according to CASA's website. The state supplemented some of the VOCA money using federal American Rescue Plan Act funding during the last application cycle in 2023, but Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration spokesperson Scott Hardin confirmed the state will not supplement grants this year. By the numbers: The Children's Safety Center of Washington County's 18 staff members provide free services like counseling and forensic interviewing for children suspected of experiencing sexual abuse that cannot be done by volunteers, executive director Elizabeth Shackelford told Axios. About 740 children received services last year. The Children and Family Advocacy Center in Benton County has applied for $80,000 this year, despite receiving about $280,000 in the past, executive director Natalie Tibbs told Axios. The organization primarily sees children suspected of experiencing abuse and also has a shelter for families, most of whom have experienced domestic violence, Tibbs said. Friction point: While the northwest region includes 14 counties home to a third of the state's population, it will receive a sixth of the remaining VOCA funding because the state is now divided into six geographic regions, compounding the challenge. "We have to turn, in a sense, competitive against each other," Shackelford said, speaking of the other child advocacy centers that typically collaborate with one another as they have a common cause. What they're saying: "VOCA's federal guidelines prohibit direct awards to victims, which is why population levels do not determine award amounts," Hardin told Axios in an email. Flashback: VOCA started in 1984 and is funded by fines paid by people or entities convicted of federal crimes, which have decreased in recent years and resulted in a depleted fund. Former President Biden signed a bill with a plan to give the fund a new source of revenue.
CBS News
15-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Baltimore-based LGBTQ+ legal services nonprofit loses over $300,000 in funding
A Baltimore nonprofit that provides free legal services for the LGBTQ+ community is taking a big hit in its finances. Executive Director of FreeState Justice, Phillip Westry, said the organization is no longer getting a grant through Maryland's Victims of Crime Act, meaning it's losing more than $300,000. While the funding is federal, it is issued through the Governor's Office of Crime Prevention and Policy (GOCCP). Westry said FreeState is now figuring out how to make sure the LGBTQ+ community's most vulnerable keep getting this help. Impact of lost funding Westry said he was alerted about the loss of funding at the end of May. "I was honestly quite shocked," Westry said. "Our organization has been receiving this particular grant since 2018." FreeState helps the LGBTQ+ community with a variety of legal issues, including assisting victims of domestic violence, helping individuals who are experiencing discrimination and helping people change their names. All of their services are provided for free. While the funding loss is around 25% of FreeState's overall budget, it makes up 60% of its legal services budget, Westry said. The loss could mean some staff have to be let go, and fewer staff means fewer cases that FreeState can take on. Assisting the LGBTQ+ community FreeState's clients are typically on the margins of the LGBTQ+ community, according to Westry. So, fewer resources would mean life or death for some clients. Westry told WJZ that in his 10 years practicing law, FreeState is the first place where he's lost clients to suicide. "We've seen people come to us for legal services, specifically to kind of get their name changed and to get their estate planning in order," he said. "Then just to find out a couple months later, they've taken their own life." The GOCCP said FreeState did not score high enough in its application for the funding this time. The office confirmed that the Trump administration's funding cuts and policy changes did not influence the grant. To fill the funding gap, Westry said his team is looking for additional funding and hoping the community steps in to help. "This really is a moment where we need people," Westry said. "It's not a 'sort of future' issue. This is an issue we're going to run into the next few months. We would prefer not to slow down our services."
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Get it done': Advocates push Oregon lawmakers to fund services for victims of abuse
Survivors, advocates and community leaders urge lawmakers to maintain funding to support domestic abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking and stalking survivors at a rally at Willson Park in Salem on June 4, 2025. (Courtesy of Amanda Rain, Clackamas Women's Services) Nonprofits that help survivors of sexual assault, and other crimes are urging Oregon lawmakers to maintain state funding for their jobs and the services they provide. As the Oregon Legislature juggles lower-than-anticipated revenue and the possibility of further reductions from federal funding cuts and decreased tax revenue related to tariffs and economic instability, advocacy workers and abuse survivors rallied at a park next to the Oregon Capitol on Wednesday to urge lawmakers to keep funding services for children and adult victims. Anything short of current funding would result in fewer staff members, fewer shelter beds, longer wait times and less support for survivors facing a crisis, Melissa Erlbaum, the executive director of Clackamas Women's Services, told the crowd. 'The private sector can't make up the gap,' said Allison Kelly, the CEO of Liberty House, a children's advocacy group based in Marion and Polk counties. The Oregon Department of Justice receives state and federal funding to facilitate grants to nonprofits to help survivors find safety, shelter, clothing and other resources needed in an emergency situation. This funding also goes toward hiring advocates at Oregon's colleges and universities who help students experiencing abuse, stalking or other crimes. 'It funds our jobs and it funds the people we help whether it's emergency housing or transportation, clothing vouchers, gas vouchers or relocation support,' Zoey Reyes, an advocate working at Haven from Domestic and Sexual Violence based in The Dalles told the Oregon Capital Chronicle. Advocates want lawmakers to pass two bills and one budget proposal. The latter is the Oregon Department of Justice's Policy Option Package 327, which would provide $22 million to tribal and local programs providing emergency shelter and safety services to abuse victims. This is the funding needed to maintain these services as its current capacity. Additionally, House Bill 3196 would appropriate $18.5 million from the state's general fund to the Oregon Department of Justice to give grants to the hundreds of Oregon nonprofits helping abuse victims find safety. These grants are usually federally funded through the Victims of Crime Act, a federal law enacted by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 to provide federal support for direct services to crime victims. However, this federal funding is being reduced by 42%, according to the Oregon Law Center. The bill would also distribute $3 million from the general fund to the Oregon CASA Network to make up for cuts in federal CASA funds, which abruptly had funding cancelled in April. Lastly, advocates are urging the passage of House Bill 3070, which would appropriate $400,000 from the state's general fund to the Attorney General's Sexual Assault Task Force, a statewide agency that certifies sexual assault nurse examiners. Both bills have yet to receive a vote in either chamber. 'It is absolutely important that we recognize that our legislators have a very difficult task of balancing this budget,' said Libra Forde, the executive director of the Women's Foundation of Oregon. 'But you were put there to do that. Get it done.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Crime victim service nonprofits in Michigan sound alarm for decreases in federal funding
Pinwheels in downtown Lansing mark the Children's Trust Fund's 14th annual Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Day rally, April 26, 2022 | Laina G. Stebbins Groups that provide crime victims access to emergency shelter, counseling, food assistance and more are at risk of closing as federal funding for victim services has been on a steady decline in recent years while need has increased in Michigan, nonprofit groups in the state are warning. Prevention is a key tool in fighting against domestic and sexual violence, Betsy Huggett, director of the Diane Peppler Resource Center in Sault Ste. Marie told the Michigan Advance, but trims to federal funding have meant community programs to build awareness for violence for students haven't been possible as the center operates in 'famine' mode. The center's staff of 14 wear a lot of hats in order to maintain the shelter for survivors and their families and ensure individuals and their loved ones can exit dangerous living situations, Huggett said. She said she's proud that the center has navigated many storms like keeping the majority of its staff on the payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic, but she wonders how much more the organization could do if it had more sustainable funding. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'We know the rug could be pulled out from under us at any time so we just keep staying in the famine mindset…there were a lot of things that we used to be able to do that made a huge impact in the community,' Huggett said. The Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA, the main federal funding program distributing states funds to provide services to victims of crimes such as child abuse, domestic and sexual assault, elder abuse and more has seen steep decreases nationwide in recent years. Michigan saw a 42% chop in VOCA funding for victim services last year compared to the 2023 VOCA amount which is funded by fines and penalties from federal cases, with a large portion coming from the prosecution of white collar financial crime which has been on a years-long decline, expected to decline further under President Donald Trump. Michigan, like most states, has taken on the cost burden of keeping domestic violence shelters and other resources open by supplementing the funds lost through use of the state budget. However, Michigan is still falling short as it struggles to maintain funding levels while the cost of services has shot up, Johanna Kononen, director of law and policy for the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, or MCEDSV, told the Advance. The 2024 fiscal year Michigan state budget allocated $30 million for victim services being provided by more than 100 organizations across the state. Now MCEDSV is seeking $75 million for organizations in the state budget through a campaign, '75 Saves Lives' to encourage lawmakers crafting the next budget to recognize the consequences for crime victims if organizations aren't able to provide services. When it comes to topics like domestic and sexual violence, which hold stigma and shame in conversations, there can be an illusion that those kinds of crimes happen to other people and don't impact the lives of all Michiganders, Kononen said. But nationwide estimates find that more than half of women and almost one in three men will experience sexual violence in their lifetime while domestic violence impacts 10 million Americans annually, including intimate partner violence and child abuse. 'Oftentimes, it's easy to [say] 'this hasn't happened to me and so this isn't impacting me. Why should we prioritize this as a state?'. But unfortunately, statistically speaking, if you don't know someone who's been impacted by domestic or sexual violence, it's because they haven't told you,' Kononen said. Nobody wants to think about sexual violence, especially when it comes to children being the victims, Melissa Werkman, President of Children's Advocacy Centers of Michigan said, but the reality is 1 in 7 children have experienced abuse or neglect in the last year in the U.S. which equals about 300,000 of Michigan's kids. VOCA dollars almost exclusively fund the frontline workers at Michigan's 40 children's advocacy centers, Werkman told the Advance, meaning the forensic interviewers for children who've experienced violence, victim advocates who guide families towards healing after abuse and medical professionals who offer care, all at low to no cost. The goal of children's advocacy centers is to respond to violence in a child's life in a way that is geared towards them and their healing amidst systems that were not built for children, Werkman said. When talking to the public about the value of the centers, Werkman said a lot of people expect the centers to be shrouded in discomfort, sadness and confusion, but the truth is this work helps kids get back to being kids. 'The kids are excited to come to their therapy appointments. They walk right in and they know the intake coordinator and they're excited to see the therapy dog. That is what we give kids back. We most importantly beyond the justice aspect of it, beyond the advocacy aspect and therapy aspect, we give kids their agency back,' Werkman said. Without VOCA, there are no children's advocacy centers, Werkman said, because as much as 85% of a center's budget can come from those federal funds. Given the decline in funding, children's advocacy centers in Michigan on average are operating on a funding gap of over $100,000 and smaller rural centers providing care to multiple counties where resources are strained are most at risk of closing their doors. Having to stop funding a counselor or close down a shelter is a terrible decision for a victim organization to face, but it's especially ominous for tribal communities where some programs for an area have only one victim advocate and there is only one tribal domestic and sexual violence shelter in the state, Stacey Ettawageshik, executive director of Uniting Three Fires Against Violence said to the Advance. Uniting Three Fires Against Violence, a tribal victim advocacy group providing training and advocacy for the 12 tribal programs in Michigan providing domestic and sexual violence care, has done a lot of work to get tribal issues a voice in Lansing, Ettawageshik said. For a demographic of people who experience violence at a drastically disproportionate rate than their white counterparts, Ettawageshik said tribal groups have worked 10 times as hard as other violence programs to get their portion of funding. There's a historic lack of trust in non-tribal organizations claiming to help Native Americans, an example being Indian residential schools in Michigan which stole hundreds of Anishinaabe children from their homes and subjected them to years of abuse and culture erasure, Ettawageshik said. Pain and resilience: The legacy of Native American boarding schools in Michigan Tribal programs come from a trauma-formed approach that includes historical knowledge of how violence has impacted Michiganders from tribal communities and can administer culturally honoring services and sacred medicines like sage, cedar, sweet grass and tobacco, Ettawageshik said. 'We've come so far [with] tribal programs getting access to these resources in the first place that it will just be taken away in a heartbeat and where does that leave us?,' Ettawageshik said. 'That leaves us back at square one… losing that funding. Losing that support is going to make a huge impact on our communities that already experience higher levels of substance use, homelessness, increased violence and that violence is really committed most of the time by non-natives.' While President Donald Trump's administration has placed a strong focus on cutting what it labels as erroneous federal spending and usage of taxpayer dollars for programs not aligning with the administration's values, Kononen said it's imperative for residents and policymakers to understand that VOCA is funded through criminals having to pay for their crimes. 'I think it's very easy for people to see what's happening in the federal government and think that that's something that's happening really far away… that doesn't have anything to do with me here in my town in Michigan and the services that my community needs,' Kononen said. 'It's a tricky topic to broach with people, and it makes it seem kind of academic like this is a line item in the budget when these are real people who are getting life-saving help.'
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alaska Legislature approves $5.5 million for child advocacy centers, fills federal funding shortfall
The Alaska and American flags fly in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) The Alaska Legislature has approved state funding for child advocacy centers, which support child victims of physical and sexual abuse. Alaska's 20 centers were in limbo, facing a $5.5 million shortfall after federal grants were ended or cut, as well as uncertainty over whether operations and services would continue past June. On Friday afternoon, the budget conference committee – tasked with hammering out the final budget between the House and Senate versions – approved the funds to fill the gap and provide $5.5 million in state funding. Rep. Andy Jospephson, D-Anchorage and chair of the committee, said it was made clear that funding for the centers was a priority. 'They're critically important, and they rose to the very, very top of my list,' he said. 'In other words, there was no ask, given their financial predicament and importance, that I thought was more significant.' Mari Mukai, executive director of the nonprofit Alaska Children's Alliance, said she was grateful for the funding. The alliance provides support, training and technical assistance to Alaska's 20 child advocacy centers around the state. 'I know what a difficult fiscal situation we're in right now and understand that many difficult decisions needed to be made,' she said in a phone interview on Monday. Child advocacy centers provide services for children and their caregivers after suspected physical or sexual abuse, including trauma-informed interviewing, forensic services, streamlined investigations, and victim advocacy through the life of the case. They served 2,061 families statewide last year, Mukai said. The centers are funded at $10.9 million through a mix of federal and local grants, as well as other funding they raise. Mukai said the state's backstop funding will make up about half of their budget, and enable the centers to continue current operations and services. 'Unfortunately, Alaska is consistently on the top of the nation for rates of child abuse and violence, and domestic violence, and so unfortunately, yes, I do think that there's still a lot of need, but this would be a great first step,' she said. The Alaska Legislature voted to approve the final operating budget on Tuesday, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy will issue budget vetoes of individual line items before July 1. Mukai added that another federal grant the centers rely on is in danger – the Victims of Crime Act, provided by the U.S. Department of Justice through penalties related to crimes. Alaska advocates are urging the congressional delegation to push the U.S. Congress to protect this funding, as the Trump administration has moved to cancel hundreds of grants and millions of dollars supporting victims services through the Department of Justice. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
