Funding
Content
Funding and Appropriations
Issue Overview
Together, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs, the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) and the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Fund create and support comprehensive responses to the needs of victims of domestic violence.
View the FY 2012 Appropriations Briefing Book to learn more about VAWA, FVSPA and VOCA funding.
Click here to see the breakdown of funding for VAWA and FVPSA programs and their authorization levels.
VAWA programs have enhanced federal, tribal, state and local responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking, and FVPSA and VOCA support lifesaving emergency shelters and services for domestic violence victims and other crime victims.
VAWA, FVPSA, and VOCA funding support domestic violence shelters, law enforcement, courts, rape crisis centers, children's services, prevention, community outreach, and other state and local programs that provide services for victims and families. These programs have made significant progress towards ending domestic and sexual violence. Statistics show a significant decline in domestic violence since VAWA was first enacted in 1994. In addition to saving lives, VAWA, FVPSA, and VOCA save money by reducing future violence and other related social costs.
Demand for Services
Protecting victims’ safety and efforts to prevent and end domestic and sexual violence are increasingly threatened in the harsh economic climate. While a bad economy does not cause domestic violence or sexual assault, it can increase the incidence and severity of these crimes and reduce victims’ available resources for treatment, escape and recovery.
While VAWA and FVPSA have increased services for victims, enhanced prevention efforts and improved the response to victims of violence, the current economic crisis threatens to undermine this success and roll back progress. The rise in incidence, of course, increases the demand for services. At the same time, there are fewer community resources and state budget cuts have reduced funding, making it very difficult to meet the increased demand for vital services.
The increase in demand and a simultaneous decrease in resources create a dangerous gap in services. Programs are reporting significant increases in requests for help including crisis calls to hotlines, relocation assistance, counseling, shelter beds, legal services, transitional housing and childcare. The National Census of Domestic Violence Services found that on one day in 2010, over 70,500 adults and children in America received support and services from local domestic violence programs. Yet, on that same day, over 9,500 requests for services went unmet because of a lack of resources. Every day, shelters and service providers must turn away victims and families in danger. When victims take the difficult step to reach out for help, many are in life-threatening situations and must be able to find immediate safety and support. Given the dangerous and potentially lethal nature of these crimes, we cannot afford to neglect victims. Federal funding is now more essential than ever to ensure that programs across the country can keep the lights on, answer crisis calls, and provide essential services for victims fleeing violence.
Legislative Action
Congress considers funding for VAWA, FVPSA, and VOCA each year when they "appropriate" dollars to these programs in the Congressional Budget.
NNEDV co-chairs the Campaign for Funding to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, an alliance of over 30 national organizations advocating for funding for VAWA, FVPSA and VOCA. The Campaign urges Congress to provide strategic increases for VAWA and FVPSA and to increase the annual distribution of VOCA funding in order to meet the rising demand for services and continue progress towards ending domestic violence and sexual assault.
FY 2012 Appropriations
Congress completed the FY ‘12 funding bills in December 2011. Advocates were relieved that funding for VAWA, VOCA, and FVPSA programs largely remained stable, especially with the tough budget climate and focus on cutting the federal budget.
Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) Appropriations
The CJS Appropriations bill includes funding for most VAWA programs and VOCA. The bill included several important increases, along with maintaining current funding levels for VOCA and many VAWA programs. Unfortunately, funding was reduced for a few VAWA programs.
Increases:
- Transitional Housing - $25 million ($7 million increase)
- Sexual Assault Services Program - $23 million ($8 million increase)
- Court Training and Improvement - $4.5 million ($1.5 million increase)
Level Funded:
- Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecution (STOP) - $189 million
- VOCA - $705 million
- Legal Assistance for Victims - $41 million
- Research on Violence Against Indian Women - $1 million
- National Clearinghouse on Sexual Assault of American Indian and Alaska Native Women - $0.50 million
- Elder Abuse Grant Program - $4.25 million
- National Resource Center on Workplace Responses - $1 million
- National Institute of Justice - $3 million
Decreases:
- Grants to Encourage Arrest Program - $50 million with $4 million set-aside for homicide reduction ($10 million decrease)
- Services for Rural Victims - $34 million ($7 million decrease)
- Disability Grant Program - $5.75 million ($1 million decrease)
- Campus Grant Program - $9 million ($0.50 million decrease)
- Safe Havens Project - $11.5 million ($2.5 million decrease)
- Consolidated Youth Programs - $10 million ($2 million decrease)
Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (L-HHS) Appropriations
The House and Senate House Appropriations L-HHS Subcommittees oversee appropriations for FVSPA, the National Domestic Violence Hotline, DELTA, Rape Prevention and Education (RPE), and the Violence Against Women Health Initiative. For FY ‘12, all of these programs were funded at the same levels as FY ‘11. However, all programs included in the L-HHS bill were reduced through a 0.189% across the board cut. The across-the-board 0.189% cut to all programs in the L-HHS bill was included to reduce the total amount of the bill to the level agreed to in the deficit reduction deal this summer. After this across-the-board cut, the specific funding levels for the programs are:
- FVPSA - $129.547 million
- National Domestic Violence Hotline - $3.196 million
- DELTA - $5.412 million
- Rape Prevention and Education Program (RPE) - $39.399 million
- Violence Against Women Health Initiative - $2.295 million
What You Can Do To Help
Congress must hear from you about the importance of funding for domestic violence services nationwide.
- Sign-up for NNEDV's action alerts so that you can contact Congress when it is most strategic.
- Visit NNEDV's Take Action page for the latest news on Appropriations and how you can make a difference by contacting your members of Congress.
