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Legal services groups and CASA volunteers warn budget cuts would shrink eviction defense and child advocacy services
Summary
Legal Services of New Jersey and child-advocacy nonprofit CASA told the Senate budget panel that proposed cuts to state and federal funding would reduce eviction defense, housing and child-welfare advocacy, and urged restoration of state line items and replacement of threatened federal grants.
Lede Representatives of Legal Services of New Jersey, the state’s court‑appointed special advocates (CASA), and related nonprofits told the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee that proposed cuts to state grants and the prospect of federal funding reductions would harm eviction-prevention, legal aid and child‑welfare advocacy programs.
Nut graf Speakers asked the Legislature to restore specific FY26 line items and warned that a drop in federal grants would force program cuts that affect tenants, low‑income families and children in the child‑protection system.
Body Janine Lavecchia, speaking for Legal Services of New Jersey, told the committee the governor’s proposed budget would cut the state allocation for legal services by $9,200,000 (a 24% reduction) on top of a prior $3,000,000 reduction. Lavecchia said the program helped prevent evictions and normally improves tenant outcomes when attorneys participate; she cited a per‑case savings to the state ranging $8,500–$14,700 in avoided costs.
CASA representatives asked the committee to restore grant funding to $4,175,000; CASA staff and a former foster‑care youth who credited his CASA volunteer with turning his life around described how the program’s trained volunteers advocate for abused and neglected children in court and help courts make better recommendations.
Janice Relford‑Afolo and other domestic‑violence and legal‑aid leaders told senators that eviction defense and domestic‑violence crisis response teams rely on steady state and federal funding. Multiple witnesses warned that reductions in federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and other federal streams are already causing program shortfalls and that state restoration could not fully compensate for federal program terminations.
Ending Groups asked the committee to resist proposed cuts and to provide replacement state funding where federal sources are disappearing, saying the services preserve housing stability, protect children and reduce future costs to courts, health systems and social services.
