National Cuts to Victims’ Services Bleed into Santa Barbara

[Updated on Thursday, May 2, 12:30 p.m.]

Critical funding for victim services, including rape crisis centers, domestic violence shelters, and child abuse programs, are now facing severe cuts looming at the federal level. For Santa Barbara’s victim services programs, including the North County Rape Crisis Center and Standing Together to End Sexual Assault (STESA), the losses amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) is the largest federal funding source for these services, which is distributed through grants to the states annually. Next year’s proposed funding was cut by nearly $700 million, potentially forcing victim service providers nationwide to lay off staff, cut programs, or even shut their doors.

The reason for the cuts, according to the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), was noted by Congress as “insufficient annual deposits” to the Crime Victim Fund (which funds VOCA through federal criminal fines and penalties from white-collar cases), as well as “uncertainty about future receipts and the long-term stability of the VOCA fund.”

In California, this significant shortfall translates to a 40-50 percent reduction in victim assistance grants, despite an increase in violence rates across the state and rising demand for services. Advocates across California are urging state leaders to allocate $200 million in ongoing funding to preserve these local services. Hundreds rallied at the California State Capitol on Tuesday, April 30, to demand protection for this critical funding.

Santa Barbara County’s victim service providers are scrambling to figure out how to survive. For the North County Rape Crisis and Child Protection Center, the cuts translate into a $183,000 loss that will “directly impact the Center’s staffing and its capacity to provide essential services,” according to Executive Director Ann McCarty.

Combined with a $288,000 cut in funding for STESA in South County, they are looking at a more than $400,000 loss between just two of the county’s rape crisis centers alone.

“I just don’t know what to do,” said STESA Executive Director Elsa Granados. “These are the funds that we use to pay people to go out in the middle of the night or throughout the day to support a survivor, or to take those crisis calls from survivors or their loved ones.”

The COVID-19 pandemic and rising costs of living have already strained resources and impacted staffing at both rape crisis centers. At STESA, they recently raised their wages to be competitive with nearby areas, “and, still, it looks like we need to raise them more, while at the same time we’re experiencing these cuts,” Granados explained.

“We have savings that we can use, but it’s not sustainable,” she added. “Over time, those savings will be exhausted.”

Referrals to other centers are also off the table. “So we are looking at a decrease in human and financial resources for dealing with the needs of victims in our community,” she said.

Other local victim service organizations, including Domestic Violence Solutions, Child Abuse Listening and Meditation (CALM), and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), will experience similar budget cuts and a reduced capacity to provide comprehensive services.

“When you consider the potential cuts to other critical services … the total financial impact is staggering,” McCarty said. “While we’re doing everything we can to avoid layoffs, we might have to leave positions unfilled. This means fewer staff members will be shouldering more responsibilities, potentially increasing unemployment and the need for additional social services. It’s a dire situation, and we’re praying we can navigate these challenges without further harming those we serve.”

ValorUS, a coalition of California rape crisis centers, is actively lobbying both state and federal governments to address the reductions in funding — something the federal government indicates may have future solutions, but lacks immediate remedies on the national level.

Two bills are currently making their way through the California Assembly — Assembly Bill 1956 and Assembly Bill 2432 — to boost funding for victim services by respectively requiring the state to supplement reduced federal funding and create other revenue sources.

However, California’s anticipated steep budget shortfall will likely complicate any current funding proposals to alleviate the federal cuts on the state level. Without solutions, California’s victim service providers will have to make tough financial decisions, and organizations like STESA and the North County Rape Crisis Center expect to rely more heavily on community donations to make it through the next couple of years.