Carol Wick, CEO, Sharity
Last week: VICTIM-SERVICE CUTS: The appropriations bill released in the U.S. Senate that funds the Department of Justice (DOJ) contains a devastating 40% cut ($1.1 billion) to the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). Last year, the non-taxpayer-funded VOCA grants – the primary source of federal funding for thousands of victim service providers nationwide – decreased by 25%. Already we see the impact of these severe DOJ cuts (due to the drastic reduction in fees collected during COVID-19) at the state and local levels as officials make their 2021 budget projections with trust funds anticipating cuts as high as 60%. Legislators must act now.
- Looking ahead: TROUBLE FOR SHELTERS: As if things couldn’t get worse for domestic violence organizations, Florida is still trying to recoup millions paid to Tiffany Carr, the disgraced ex-CEO of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Noted House Speaker Chris Sprowls, “We thought we were spending millions to help women and children in the fight against domestic violence. It turned out we were really helping Tiffany Carr buy houses in North Carolina that she could hide away from our process servers.” Bottom line, without a major cash infusion to the trust fund, the doors at many domestic-violence shelters across our state may shut for good.
