Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Attorney General Brenna Bird on Monday pledged to provide $5.5 million in one-time bridge funding to keep services available for Iowa crime victims after Congress made budget cuts to funding for federal victim services.
Earlier this year, Congress lowered the spending cap on the Victims of Crime Assistance Act (VOCA) fund to $1.2 billion, a $700 million cut from the previous year. Federal VOCA funding was a major source relied upon by nonprofits and organizations across the country that provided services to crime victims, such as medical and mental health care, court advocacy, and temporary housing.
In Iowa, the reduction in VOCA funding resulted in a loss of more than $5.4 million for Iowa victim services, representing a 42% reduction in the state’s funding, according to a news release from the Iowa Attorney General’s office. To make up for that funding gap, the state plans to use $5.5 million from the Iowa State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (part of the American Rescue Plan Act) as a one-time spending measure to offset the federal budget cut.
In the current fiscal year, more than 50 Iowa nonprofits received VOCA-funded grants to provide assistance to adult and child crime victims through the Iowa Attorney General’s Victim Assistance Grant Program, according to the news release. The grant program had a total fund of $22.6 million, with $13.9 million in VOCA funding.
Reynolds said in a statement that the funding is necessary to ensure Iowa victim services can continue to operate.
“Without adequate federal funding, states have two options: cut victim services or find a way to fill the gap,” Reynolds said. “Crime victims deserve our full support in their recovery, and we will continue to ensure they receive the services they need in Iowa.”
Iowa is not the only state struggling to recover lost federal funding for victim services. Lawmakers in several states, including California, Colorado and Maine, Bills proposed this year Establish new state funding for these services
During the 2024 Iowa legislative session, lawmakers did not increase funding for victim services, but did discuss the need to provide emergency stopgap funding for victim services when the Legislature reconvenes in January 2025 to offset the budget change. Current VOCA funding is scheduled to continue through the federal fiscal year through September 30, 2024.
Bird thanked Reynolds for providing funding for victim services in Iowa and said federal cuts will have a disproportionate impact on rural communities.
“As a prosecutor, I work with victims and see the devastating reality of losing victim services and providers being overwhelmed by having to do too much with limited resources,” Bird said.
She said in some states, federal cuts would mean reduced services to rural and small counties, cuts to victim hotlines and the elimination of options for in-person services, such as victim-witness coordinators. “But in Iowa, we are leading the way in putting victims first. … With these dollars, we will ensure victims have the resources they need as they work to heal and rebuild their lives.”
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