Gov. Bill Lee offers victim-serving agencies $20M in revised budget
Victim-serving agencies in Tennessee have been making public pleas for Gov. Bill Lee to include funding for them in the state budget. (Photo by)
Gov. Bill Lee will include $20 million in the state's budget for victim-serving agencies that — for weeks — have issued public pleas for help to keep their doors open in the face of steep cuts to federal grants.
Sexual assault centers, domestic violence shelters and child abuse counseling agencies — many serving key roles in working with law enforcement to bring perpetrators to justice — have seen their share of federal Victims of Crime Act funding dwindled from a peak of $68 million in 2018 to $16 million last year.
In response to these cuts, 35 other states took action to provide state funding. Tennessee was not one of them, until now.
'Some of the victim services units are struggling to provide the services that are needed, particularly for our law enforcement and for the victims of crime in our state,' Jim Bryson, commissioner of the Department of Finance and Administration, said Tuesday in presenting the supplemental budget proposal to lawmakers.
The governor's funding — $10 million in grants for each of the next two years — fell short of the request for $25 million in recurring state funding a coalition of state nonprofits say they need to preserve current services.
Memphis domestic violence center abruptly closes amid statewide fight for victim funding
Advocates, disappointed when the governor's budget initially included no state funding for crime victims, nevertheless called it an important first step but are still seeking a long-term dedicated crime victim funding.
'This funding is an important acknowledgment of the urgent crisis facing Tennessee's victim service providers,' said Stephen Woerner, executive director of Tennessee Children's Advocacy Centers, which provides counseling and other services to children who have suffered abuse.
Woerner stressed the need for sufficient and sustained funding long-term.
The Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA funding, relies on the fees and fines collected from individuals prosecuted in federal courts. It has seen a drastic drop in collections as prosecutors made a concerted shift to accept more plea deals — a trend that preceded the current Trump Administration.
A short-term infusion of COVID-era funding helped bridge the gap, but those funds have now ended.
Collectively, Tennessee organizations receiving VOCA grants serve more than 95,000 victims in Tennessee each year, according to the state's Office of Criminal Justice Programs.
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