Victim-service providers urge $7 million state supplement as federal VOCA funding falls

At an Appropriations - Human Resources Division hearing, providers and coalition representatives urged legislative action to fill a drop in federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding and described how reduced federal distributions are straining services across North Dakota.

Seth O’Neil with the North Dakota Domestic and Sexual Violence Coalition testified that federal VOCA distributions to states are declining and that the coalition seeks a $7,000,000 one‑time state supplement to cover the shortfall while Congress works on a federal fix. “This supplemental state support would just help get us through the next couple years,” O’Neil said.

Courtney Monroe Reichman, direct services supervisor at the Abused Adult Resource Center in Bismarck, described program impacts. She said her program’s 2024 VOCA request was $450,000; they received $251,000 and received supplemental funding from the Department of Corrections to reach $365,000. “Without these dollars we would have maybe half of our staff at this point,” she said, adding that VOCA funds support 24‑hour shelters, crisis-line advocates and case management.

Colby Braun, director of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, explained how DOCR channels VOCA funding and reported an early internal estimate of cost savings from the department’s pharmacy participation in federal 340B pricing; DOCR’s pharmacist reported about $530,000 in savings in February and an approximate monthly average near $750,000 as the program expands. Braun said 340B savings are realized only when medications are dispensed from the department’s pharmacy; retail or county-dispensed prescriptions do not capture full 340B pricing.

Committee members pressed whether the requested $7,000,000 is the right number and whether DOCR could reallocate other funds. Michelle Zander, DOCR chief financial officer, said the department used special funds—restitution and similar receipts—to provide supplemental help this year but cautioned those funds are not replenishing at prior rates. “We can go back and relook at things again…we don’t expect that fund to raise as much as it was,” Zander said.

Local providers described service consequences if funding is not restored. Koya Tompkins Inman, president and CEO of Community Violence Intervention Center (CVIC) in Grand Forks, said VOCA had represented roughly $750,000—about 10% of her agency’s $7.2 million operating budget—and that recent distributions dropped to about $517,000, affecting services for more than 1,100 victims. Jill McDonald, executive director of the Domestic Violence Crisis Center in Minot, said VOCA funds support sheltering, therapy and courtroom advocacy; she cited danger-assessment averages and increasing reports of strangulation that heighten urgency for sustained services.

Greg Kosciuszko of the Children’s Advocacy Centers of North Dakota told the committee VOCA commonly pays victim advocate salaries that provide immediate support during forensic interviews and coordinate ongoing services. Several witnesses said national legislation—the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act—was being advanced in Congress (identified in testimony as H.R. 909) and that advocates are urging its passage to stabilize future distributions.

Chairman Nelson directed DOCR staff to reexamine available special funds and return to the committee with details; the committee scheduled continued public testimony the following day. No formal appropriation vote appears in the provided transcript excerpt.