Advocates fear impact of cuts to crime victims services, call on lawmakers for help

Organizations that provide services to victims of crime such as counseling, crisis case management, transitional housing, and help interacting with the court system are looking at the loss of vital federal funding. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)

Rhode Island victim service advocates are sounding the alarm over federal funding cuts they say will greatly impact their ability to help people including survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. 

About 20 nonprofit organizations that receive funding through the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) expect to lose a combined $2 million when the federal fiscal year starts on Oct. 1 and are calling on the General Assembly to cover the gap. 

“It’s never too late for the state of Rhode Island to step up,” said Vanessa Volz, executive director of the Sojourner House in Providence. “This will have a devastating effect on organizations that provide service to victims — everything from emergency shelter to crisis support and basic needs.”

Volz and other members of the coalition plan to gather Thursday at 3 p.m. at the State House Library to demand that lawmakers allocate the $2 million for the state’s fiscal year 2025 budget.

The VOCA fund was created by Congress in 1984 in order to support state and local programs that assist victims through means beyond the punishment of a criminal. Funding tends to vary from year to year, as the program relies on fines by people and corporations convicted of federal crimes. In fiscal 2023, a total of 42,145 individuals received VOCA-funded services in Rhode Island.

“It’s not the most reliable source of funding,” said Volz, whose nonprofit received $303,382 in VOCA funds this year. Sojourner House provides victims of domestic violence, sexual violence and human trafficking, with services such as emergency housing and counseling.

VOCA funding peaked in fiscal year 2018 at $4.4 billion, States Newsroom reported earlier this month. Now, the fund has $1.9 billion and is set to decrease by $700 million come October.

Federal cuts would not affect the Crime Victim Compensation Program (CVCP) managed by the Rhode Island Office of General Treasurer, said spokesperson Michelle Moreno-Silva. The state program, which began in 1972, provides up to $25,000 in reimbursement for expenses resulting from being the victim of a violent crime, such as costs associated with crime scene cleaning, counseling, relocation, and funerals.

Under Rhode Island law, Moreno-Silva said the states’ victim compensation program is a “fund of last resort,” meaning that applicants must show they have exhausted alternatives before they qualify for state compensation.

“To the extent those programs are increasingly unable to provide financial resources to crime victims, more individuals will turn to the CVCP for help,” she said. 

In a joint statement to Rhode Island Current, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio and House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said “addressing the additional funding needs for victims’ services is on the list under consideration of the many priorities that have been requested as we put together the final budget.”

“There is a long list of pressing demands that were not included in the governor’s original budget proposal to the legislature,” they said.

Uncertain about the future

The 24-hour helpline operated seven days a week by the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence may no longer be able to pick up at certain times, said Executive Director Lucy Rios.

“People need human connection at the time they’re most vulnerable and afraid,” Rios said.

Tri-County Community Action Agency in Johnston might have to make cuts to a program that helps victims who are deaf or hard of hearing navigate through the legal process, said Director of Community and Legislative Affairs Richard DelFino.

This program has so far assisted 104 people this year, DelFino said. Agency administrators will “take a deep dive” on what’s impacted after the state makes a funding decision, he added.

Such uncertainties in funding have left Judith Earle, executive director for the Elizabeth Buffum Chace Center, especially worried about what services her nonprofit will have to reduce.The Warwick-based center provides victims with counseling, crisis case management, transitional housing, and court advocates who assist with filing restraining orders and letting prosecutors know what they would like to see happen.

“It’s a really huge amount of work we do that affects so many people at all stages of their crisis and recovery,” she said.

The Elizabeth Buffum Chace Center assists over 4,000 people, Earle said. She declined to say how many positions she would have to cut if her nonprofit doesn’t get enough funding from the state.

“I can’t even consider that right now,” Earle said. “I have to think positively that logic will prevail.”

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