Organizations across the country that depend on funding for victim services are sounding the alarm and asking for legislators to take action to replenish and support a flagging Crime Victims Fund.
The Crime Victims Fund is a federal resource that is doled out to states. States distribute the funding to organizations that provide services to victims of crime. Created by the Victims of Crime Act in 1984, the fund does not use taxpayer dollars, but is composed of fines and fees gathered through the prosecution of federal crimes.
“State and federal dollars are the largest portion of what makes this company go,” said Carol Merna, CEO of Peoria’s Center for Prevention of Abuse. “It's the fuel that makes our car run. So we rely on the state to be as generous as they’re able and the same with the federal government.”
Merna estimates that federal funding accounts for around 80% of the resources needed to keep the center’s services free. She says a large portion of that funding comes through grants from the Crime Victims Fund.
Data from the federal Office for Victims of Crime shows the available funding from this source has been steadily declining since 2017. In 2021, Congress unanimously passed a measure called“The VOCA Fix.” The Fix allowed for a few new sources to contribute into the fund, but it hasn’t stopped the decline.
In the President’s FY 2024 budget, the earmarked cap for awards nationwide is $1.2 billion, down from $1.9 billion in 2023 and $2.6 billion in 2022. For some comparison, award caps in 2018 and 2019 were $4.4 billion and $3.3 billion respectively.
“The Center for Prevention of Abuse alone took a $550,000 cut this fiscal year,” Merna said. “And if we are forced to take another 40% we’re going to see that. We’re going to feel it. Our survivors are going to feel it and we don’t want that to happen.”
In particular, a continued drop in funding would impact the center’s therapy services, children’s services and advocates who go to local hospitals to be a first point of contact for those who are victims of violent crime.
However, Merna says the most notable VOCA-funded service is the center’s 24-hour crisis hotline.
“We want to make sure that our programs are able to figure out how to continue these services without significant reductions,” said Vickie Smith, president and CEO of the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Organizations like the Coalition Against Domestic Violence partner with the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority to function as a pass-through, dispensing the federal dollars for agencies that specifically work with survivors of domestic violence.
“There’s not enough money in the pot even to sustain what we’ve got right now,” Smith said. “So there’s a lot of concern that we’re going to have yet another significant cut.”
All of this is happening in tandem with a surge of instances of domestic violence. The World Health Organization sounded the alarm on increasing levels of domestic violence during the height of the pandemic. It’s a disturbing trend that Smith says doesn’t appear to be reversing.
Smith says the organization puts together a report on deaths caused by domestic violence. In 2022, the count fell between 40 and 50. In 2023, she says, the number more than doubled. Smith doesn’t know that number is fully representative either, because the data is collected by the organization through media reports and public records.
“Our programs are reporting a lot more calls for service,” Smith said. “And that the types of violence they’re seeing are more violent, they’re more dramatic.”
In Peoria, Merna says the Center for Prevention of Abuse still feels the impact of the pandemic to this day.
“Sometimes those folks that experience that stress and abuse during that time, it takes people a while to seek help,” she said. “We’re just now starting to see people that were affected during the pandemic. So we’re delighted that people find their voice, but it’s imperative that we remain available to them.”
Smith says, if funding continues to decline, the area impacted the most will be the hiring of advocates. Advocates in the field of domestic violence victim services have a wide variety of roles, they help victims navigate the justice system, as well as get access to the resources for things like counseling and childcare that they may not know about.
“One of the things that we’ve learned over time, the more advocates you have, the more successful people are in accessing the justice system in getting their needs met,” Smith said. “In terms of safety, orders of protection, going to family court, custody, visitation, all those kinds of things.”
If there are fewer advocates, Smith says, fewer survivors of domestic violence are safe.
Area legislators are aware of the concerns coming from these organizations. District 17 Representative Eric Sorensen (D-IL) and District 16 Representative Darin LaHood (R-IL) both signed onto a bipartisan letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget. The letter requests bridge funding to increase the Crime Victims Fund as part of the FY 2024 budget.
“We’re definitely looking into all possibilities for funding fixes,” Sorensen told WCBU. “I should say, you know, our reason for doing this, just saying there’s a funding gap isn’t enough.”
Sorensen did not provide any specific fix suggestions for the funding, but said it was critical to find a solution to prevent any further cuts to these programs.
“Peoria’s Center for the Prevention of Abuse and other victim services organizations are critical to supporting the vulnerable and those in need throughout central Illinois,” said LaHood in a statement by email to WCBU. “In Congress, I will continue to support funding and advocate for grant dollars to bolster services for survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault, and other abuses.”
Merna says she’s anxious about seeing an effective solution to the funding issue.
In the president’s budget, she sees $1.2 billion. In appropriations bills, she sees $1.2 billion. As mentioned, $1.9 billion is the number required to stay in-line with last year’s funding, which even still represented a significant cut from the previous year.
“When people are able to receive help when survivors can get help and seek some hope and a pathway to peace, that community is safer,” Merna said.
