Rep. Salud Carbajal has been joined by local district attorneys in urging the U.S. Senate to take up bicameral and bipartisan legislation to strengthen the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) by fixing how the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) is funded.
The CVF was established to provide funding for victim compensation, including medical bills, lost wages, and funeral costs; and critical victim support programs.
The CVF is funded through deposits from federal criminal fines, meaning the balance can vary depending on the cases the Justice Department prosecutes. The CVF balance has diminished in recent years due to greater use of deferred prosecutions and non-prosecution agreements.
Monetary penalties from these prosecutions are directed to the Treasury, rather than the CVF. The VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act requires the Department of Justice to redirect criminal settlements from non-prosecution and deferred prosecutions into the CVF.
This fix alone would make an additional $4 billion to $7 billion available to benefit crime victims over the next few years.
“The Crime Victims Fund gives local governments the ability to support and compensate the innocent victims of crime,” said Carbajal. “Despite serving as a critical lifeline, this program has been severely underfunded for years.
“This commonsense fix has garnered bipartisan support, allows us to continue helping those harmed by crime, and doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime. I implore my Senate colleagues to take up this bill and provide crime victims with the help they need and deserve.”
“VOCA is the cornerstone of funding for our local Victim Services Programs,” said Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley. “In Santa Barbara County alone, we provide crisis intervention, orientation to the criminal justice system, court support, child advocacy services and victim compensation to more than 4,000 victims of crime annually.
“Domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse victims rely upon our advocates to navigate a system that often dissuades rather than invites engagement. Engagement in the system and with services can make the difference in long term recovery,” she said.
“Over 6,000 local organizations rely on funds from VOCA to provide lifesaving direct services to victims of all types of crime annually. Without VOCA funds, our Victim Witness Assistance program would no longer exist, leaving survivors with nowhere to turn,” Dudley said.
“Crime victims are sadly too often forgotten in our current era of justice reform,” said Dan Dow, San Luis Obispo County district attorney. “Fixing the Crime Victims Fund must be made an immediate priority for our elected leaders in Washington.
“The Crime Victims Fund helps to ensure that crime survivors all across our nation are able to start down the path towards healing and recovery from the trauma they endured from crime.”
“Grants for victim services have been cut by two-thirds compared to four years ago, and victim service providers are facing further potentially catastrophic cuts if nothing is done to fix the VOCA fund,” said Erik Nasarenko, Ventura County District Attorney.
“In Ventura County, 34 out of the district attorneys’ 37 victim services staff are either entirely or partially funded by $3 million in competitive VOCA funded grants serving 7,000 victims annually,” he said.
“Failing to fix the VOCA fund will compromise justice for these victims and millions more across the nation by leaving it to them to navigate the trauma of crimes like murder, sexual assault, child molestation, domestic violence and other crimes effectively without aid or counsel,” Nasarenko said.