Organizations that support crime victims across the United States are bracing for significant financial losses after the amount available from a major federal victim assistance fund plummeted by $700 million this year.
Congress recently cut spending on the fund, which provides grants to nonprofit and local programs across the country, to $1.2 billion.
This latest round of cuts has caused great concern among prosecutors’ offices, rape crisis centers, domestic violence shelters, child protection centers, and law enforcement agencies that provide victim services. Many of these organizations and agencies are now having to close locations, lay off staff, and reduce their services.
The decline in funding is now causing many experts and advocates to rethink the current, precarious system of victim assistance. How much federal money is available each year is determined by a elaborate three-year average of accumulated court fees, fines and penalties – a figure that has dropped by billions over the past six years. The fund receives no taxpayer money.
Karrie Delaney, federal affairs director for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, said the fund is under greater strain than usual because fewer court cases were conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic and the last administration prosecuted fewer companies.
RAINN is the nation’s largest organization working against sexual violence. It operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE) and the Department of Defense Safe Helpline in conjunction with local organizations. Its website states: “It also runs programs to prevent sexual violence, assist survivors, and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.”
“I think what’s important from RAINN’s perspective is the real impact of these fluctuations on the survivors we support, as well as on organizations and service providers across the country,” Delaney said.
When the federal cap drops, organizations that support crime victims often turn to state and local governments to fill the gap, she said. And often there isn’t enough money to do so.
Victim support service providers say smaller groups or branches, particularly in rural towns or counties, are particularly at risk of closure due to the expected cuts. Many of them rely solely on federal funding.
Shakyra Diaz, federal prosecutor director for the Alliance for Safety and Justice, which advocates for crime victims, said many groups are “in a serious situation where they may have to close their doors, may have to limit their services, may have to cut staff, may have to tell crime victims, ‘I can’t help you now. You have to wait six months.'”
In at least three states — California, Colorado and Maine — lawmakers have introduced bills that would create fresh state funding opportunities for victim services. Some of these bills would pump general state funds into victim services to offset cuts at the federal level, another would create a fresh tax on firearms and ammunition, and another would raise penalties for businesses. Money raised through taxes or fines would then go to support victim services.
The Federal Crime Victims Fund receives its money from fines, forfeited bail, and monetary penalties in certain federal cases.
The annual uncertainty about how much money will be collected from federal criminal cases, in turn, directly impacts the amounts available to states for distribution to victim support organizations, making it hard for affected groups to plan their budgets for the long term.
“Victim services and victim support resources are already so scarce. And to then talk about further reducing a pot of money that is already full is, quite frankly, appalling,” said Renée Williams, executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime.
The federal fund was established in 1984 under the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). Congress attempted to stabilize the fund in 2000 by setting an annual cap on withdrawals. The cap remained below $1 billion per year until 2015, but Congress increased it to $2.3 billion that year, and it peaked at $4.4 billion in 2018.
Then the cap dropped dramatically, and by fiscal year 2023, Congress had set it at $1.9 billion, according to Data from the US Department of Justice.
In March of this year, Congress reduced the cap again, to $1.2 billion, or more than 35 percent. The cuts will not take effect until October of this year, when the federal government’s next fiscal year begins.
Victim support organizations report that demand for assistance continues to grow. Some expect competition for approval to raise even further.
They are asking state lawmakers for support.
State legislation
At Stand Up Placer, a nonprofit organization supporting survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking in Placer County, California, the expected federal cuts are expected to result in a budget cut of about $700,000, or 22 percent, according to executive director Cheryl Marcell.
Some of the group’s services, such as legal services, will likely be scaled back. Instead of the current 500 cases, the group may only be able to serve 200 clients, Marcell said.
In California, local district attorneys’ offices are currently grappling with how to close that funding gap, said Jonathan Raven, deputy executive director of the California District Attorneys Association and former deputy district attorney for Yolo County.
The offices are considering options such as laying off staff, applying for local grants or reducing their services entirely, Raven told Stateline.
“The most vulnerable victims will no longer receive the benefits they expect and are entitled to,” Raven said. “This will have significant impacts across California and across the country.”
California state lawmakers have introduced two bills designed to mitigate federal cuts.
One of the bills would require additional state funding if federal funding for VOCA is reduced by more than 10% from the amount provided in the previous year. The bill is in committee.
The other invoicestill under consideration in the Assembly would raise fines for businesses convicted of misdemeanors and felonies. Those fines would be used to fund a fresh fund for crime victims in California.
In Colorado, the legislature passed a The invoice Proposing a more constant state funding source for victim services through a 9% gun and ammunition tax. Tax revenue would be spent on crime victim assistance services, mental health services, school safety, and gun violence prevention.
The bill now goes to Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, who has until June 7 to sign or veto it, according to his press secretary. If he signs it, the bill will go before voters on the November ballot.
Meanwhile, Maine’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills, signed a budget bill in April that includes a one-time allocation of $6 million for victim assistance.
Impact on benefits for victims
According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, there are about 12,200 victim assistance providers in the United States, nearly a quarter of which are located in the country’s most populous states – California, Florida, Texas and New York. Census 2017.
Ohio has more than 400 victim services providers, many of which are funded by the federal Crime Victims Fund. Last year, the state received $46.6 million.
However, Ohio was allocated only $26.7 million for fiscal year 2024, 42.8% less than in 2023 and 77% less than in 2018.
Given the drastic cuts, some victim services providers in Ohio fear they will no longer be able to serve rural communities, particularly in the Appalachian region. For the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, a statewide coalition that supports crisis centers for rape victims, the loss of funding could lead to a decline in support for the 12 counties that do not have local crisis centers or programs for rape victims.
“These are the places that already do not have good access to services and that have never had access to services. [that] “Most of them will be the ones who have access that they have further restricted,” said Emily Gemar, the group’s public policy director.
Court-appointed special advocates in Appalachian counties are also expected to bear the brunt of the funding cuts, said Doug Stephens, executive director of Ohio CASA, which oversees 47 local programs in 60 counties that support children navigate the court system. Stephens expects up to 10 local programs to be eliminated.
“They are working very hard to provide the same services as the big cities,” he said in an interview. “It is only with the funding from VOCA that they can stay open.”
In South Carolina, victim support groups and Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson are urging the state legislature to offset looming federal cuts. Wilson has asked for $15 million, which is just enough money to maintain existing services.
The state Senate has proposed an allocation of $5 million, while the House of Representatives has put forward a proposal of $3 million. According to the Attorney General’s Office, both plans could involve cuts of 15 to 30 percent to ongoing projects.
When something like this happens, people only think about money. What we see are the real people, we see their feelings, we see the pain and emotions they are going through.
– Richland County, SC, Sheriff Leon Lott
Sheriff Leon Lott of Richland County, South Carolina, whose department receives VOCA funding and employs victim advocates to support people navigate the criminal justice system, said the state needs to offer more support.
“When something like this happens, people only think about the money. We see the real people, we see their feelings, we see the pain and the emotions they are going through,” said Lott, a Democrat. “I fear this loss of funding will negatively impact the things we do for victims and could lead to them becoming even more victims.”
“If the federal government does not provide the money, the state must do it.”
