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Victim services agency asks Legislature to backfill $1.1M VOCA shortfall and shore up special funds
Summary
The Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services told the Senate Judiciary Committee it faces federal grant declines and special‑fund deficits that could force cuts; the center requested roughly $1.1 million to offset an expected VOCA reduction and additional one‑time and ongoing funding to stabilize compensation and restitution programs.
Jennifer Pullman, executive director of the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services, told the Senate Judiciary Committee the center faces a major reduction in federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding and declines in the special funds that support victim compensation, restitution and domestic‑violence services.
Pullman said the center’s current general‑fund allocation is about $1.6 million and that the administration and House have recommended only a 3% general‑fund increase. She described the center as “that weird state agency that has no state employees” and said most of the dollars the center distributes are straight pass‑through grants to local programs.
VOCA, Pullman said, dropped from about $3.0 million last year to an expected $1.9 million in the coming year, a loss of roughly $1.1 million that would directly affect 46 programs statewide. “The loss of $1,100,000 would mean that we would have to make cuts and actually probably set it up as more of a competitive grant, amongst our 46 different subgrantees versus a grant that they have come to rely on as at least something that they can…,” Pullman said.
She also detailed projected deficits in the special funds the center administers: a projected $562,000 deficit for the victim‑ compensation fund, a $324,000 projected deficit for the restitution fund and a $92,000 shortfall in the domestic and sexual‑violence special fund. Pullman said those declines result partly from long‑term drops in the revenue streams that feed the special funds, including fewer traffic stops and fewer fines and fees.
On statutory authority and operations, Pullman emphasized that victims’ compensation is available on a probable‑cause finding and does not require conviction or prosecution, allowing payments to victims while their cases remain pending. She urged the committee to consider broader structural changes to revenue priorities and cited an out‑of‑state example (Hawaii) that places victim services earlier in the distribution order for fines and fees.
Pullman summarized the center’s top budget asks: $1.1 million to replace the VOCA loss (with an ideal target of $1.5 million to permit modest increases), $562,000 to level the victim compensation fund, and $324,000 to level the restitution fund. She said three ARPA grants expire Sept. 30 and will reduce subgrantee funding by about $777,000.
Committee members asked whether shifting priorities for fee revenue in other states had produced adverse consequences such as underfunding probation or increased recidivism; Pullman said she would follow up with Hawaii on outcomes but stressed that revenue declines are already producing local program instability.
Ending: Pullman urged lawmakers to consider general‑fund backfilling for federal and special‑fund declines to preserve existing victim services and to reduce the need for competitive reallocations among subgrantees.
