California budget has one-time funds for crime victims, aid agencies in Stanislaus County
A final state budget agreement, which includes $103 million in one-time funding for crime victim services, should keep a precarious safety net in place temporarily for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other crimes in Stanislaus County.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature approved the $103 million to backfill a sharp decline in federal Victims of Crime Act funding. About 816,000 victims of sexual and domestic violence, child abuse, human trafficking and other crimes received vital services in California in the 2021-22 fiscal year, thanks to agencies such as HAVEN in Modesto, Family Justice Center, Court Appointed Special Advocates and the District Attorney’s office.
About 400 agencies across the state, including county programs, receive allocations and grants through the federal Victims of Crime Act.
May Rico, executive director of HAVEN, or Healthy Alternatives to Violent Environments, said Thursday that she assumes an anticipated $314,500 cut will be restored. She won’t know for certain until the California Office of Emergency Services releases a new chart of funding allocations.
Rico said about $235,500 of the $314,000 reduction would have impacted the nonprofit organization in the 2024-25 budget year.
“If the cuts are restored, our staffing is expected to remain the same as it is now without further program reductions,” Rico said via email. “However, we still can’t add back any of the program offerings we’ve lost over the last two years.”
Previous allocations of VOCA funds accounted for 87% of funding for victim services in the District Attorney’s Office. The program’s VOCA funding amounted to $1.55 million in 2023, but the DA’s Office was anticipating a 45% cut, or a $690,000 reduction, starting in October.
The county program with 17 staff positions helps crime victims with crisis intervention, grief counseling and support during court proceedings. Some victims need help with funeral expenses, medical bills, lost wages and damage to vehicles and homes. The program assisted 14,031 crime victims in 2023.
Cheryl Grogan, victim services program manager, said she hopes the county program can use a small portion of the $103 million to avoid cuts and assist crime victims. “While we are grateful for the much-needed funding, we also recognize that this is one-time funding for the year and additional intervention is needed to secure long-term funding for those of us assisting, serving and supporting victims of crime,” Grogan said by email.
HAVEN for years has operated an emergency shelter for people escaping violence from a spouse or partner at home. As the federal VOCA funding has declined, the nonprofit agency has struggled to keep a legal team intact to help clients obtain domestic violence restraining orders in court.
Even if the cuts are restored, HAVEN’s board passed a budget anticipating a deficit of more than $200,000 for the coming year, Rico said. A coalition of organizations will resume lobbying in Sacramento next year to make sure crime victim services are a priority.
“While the VOCA cliff was the big problem, it’s not the only one,” Rico wrote. “Government support of safety net and victim services does not increase at the same rate as cost-of-living and cost of doing business in California.”
