State nonprofits serving crime victims brace for funding cuts

Yahoo

14-02-2025

A reduction in federal funding has nonprofit victim service agencies locally and across the state preparing for layoffs, cuts to services and, in at least one case, possible closure.
A 30% reduction in funding is looming for more than three dozen nonprofits contracted by the state to provide services such as legal assistance and advocacy for victims of domestic and sexual assault.
Safe Futures, a nonprofit organization that provides services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in southeastern Connecticut, was forced to make hard decisions about how best to use a shrinking budget, said Chief Executive Officer Katherine Verano.
Safe Futures provides criminal and civil court advocates in New London and Norwich courts where 37% of cases involve domestic violence. Verano, a former advocate herself, said victims are supported from the inception to adjudication of a criminal case. Advocates help handle protective orders and a host of other related services, including countless one-one meetings with victims. The organization's new budget has reduces the number of advocates from 7.3 to 3.5 positions. Among other services being cut is a civil court advocate.
Safe Futures is among the groups forced to come up with ways to trim budgets without severely impacting services.
'We do such a high volume here. It's mind boggling because with what we had we could barely keep up,' Verano said. 'It's a huge issue. We're not the only ones who are going to be doing a lot of fundraising.'
Others groups expected to be impacted include the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence and Survivors of Homicide.
At issue is the continuing decline in the dispersal of money from the national Crime Victims Fund, which was established by the Victims of Crime Act in 1984. The source of the VOCA funds includes federal criminal fines and court settlements, mostly from corporations. The Office of Victim Services acts as the grant administrator for the VOCA funds and accepts requests for funding from nonprofit groups.
Connecticut Judicial Branch Office of Victim Services Deputy Director Marc Pelka said the Crime Victim Fund has been volatile over the past decade and has steadily decreased since it hit a high of $4.4 billion in 2018 when it provided Connecticut with more than $36 million. The increase in funding helped boost the number of state organizations that could be funded from 17 to 40 and by extension increased the number of victims served from 40,000 in 2015 to 104,000 last year.
But the amount of VOCA money being distributed nationally and to Connecticut has since dropped significantly to a low of $8.5 million in 2024. The state filled the gap in funding over the post three years by using $48 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding.
The ARPA money is now exhausted and Pelka said the result is the 30% drop in funding. A much steeper decline was prevented by using money saved from past grants. The state will distribute $21.1 million in the next fiscal year compared to the $29.9 million distributed for fiscal year 2025.
The volatile nature of the fund has 'created challenges for victim service providers to plan their operations, personnel and services. It's created uncertainty for victims. This is something happening in every state in the country,' Pelka said about the drop in funding. 'Activity at the federal level is having an impact on the level of services. This has been a major concern for multiple years.'
Homicide survivors group could close
Another group expecting to be severely impacted is the small nonprofit Survivors of Homicide, whose victim advocate is a constant presence in New London Superior Court, working with families of murder victims, supporting them through the court process, making home visits and connecting families with law enforcement.
Jennifer Pizzano, director of victim services for the Survivors of Homicide, said a drop in funding for the 40-year-old organization could 'force us to close our doors.' Survivors of Homicide operates on a slim $138,000 budget, boosted in part from private donations and fundraising.
'It's out of our hands now and scary for us to be in this situation,' Pizzano said.
Meghan Scanlon, the executive director of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said CCADV and its 18 member organizations currently receive $8.5 million in VOCA funds including $6.2 million directed to member services that include court- and community-based advocacy, counseling and support groups. The other $2.3 million is dedicated to the statewide domestic violence hotline, Safe Connect.
The proposed 30% reduction in VOCA funds will reduce the CCADV's budget for domestic violence services to $6 million. And while CCDAV has already streamlined portions of its operations, more funding is needed to halt the possible discontinuation of the statewide hotline. Safe Connect was created in 2019 to create a single coordinated entry point for domestic violence services and annually fields about 25,000 calls, according to a fact sheet distributed by CCADV.
CCADV is requesting $1 million in state funding through the state Department of Social Services to keep the hotline operational.
'For us, it's a very critical part of how we deliver victim services,' Scanlon said.
Because the trend seems to be a drop in federal funding, Scanlon said, 'I think state legislators are going to have to decide if victim services are worth investing in at the state level.'
In the meantime, Scanlon said, CCADV like other nonprofits will continue to seek alternative funding sources and donations and explore ideas such as regionalization of services to meet a growing need.
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