Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Childrens Advocacy Grants topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
McLean County children's advocacy center awarded DCFS and VOCA continuation grants; federal VOCA funding may end
Summary
Children's Advocacy Center Director Eileen Pagan Vega told the Justice Committee July 9 that the center received a $194,493.26 DCFS continuation grant for FY2026 and a federal VOCA continuation grant at the FY2025 level, but VOCA funding could stop after FY2026, threatening staff positions funded by the grant.
Eileen Pagan Vega, director of the McLean County Children's Advocacy Center, told the McLean County Justice Committee on July 9 that the center received a DCFS continuation grant of $194,493.26 for fiscal year 2026 and a federal VOCA continuation grant at the same funding level as FY2025.
Vega said the DCFS amount reflects an increase of about $4,000 for cost-of-living adjustments and is routed through the Children's Advocacy Centers of Illinois (CACI). She said of the VOCA award: “This is a grant that might end this, the fiscal year '26 might be the last year the CAC receives it if the federal government does not…continue this funding source.”
The grants fund positions and services. Vega said one advocate (who is also the multidisciplinary team coordinator) is funded 100% by VOCA, a second advocate is funded 45% by VOCA and 55% by DCFS, and the center's mental-health counselor is funded 100% by VOCA because therapist expenses are allowable under that federal program. That staffing mix means a loss of VOCA funding would “be a pretty impactful loss,” a committee member said; Vega did not specify precise personnel actions.
Committee members asked about backup funding if VOCA ends. Vega said CACI has told centers that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is looking at options to cover some lost VOCA funding but “they don't know what DCFS, like, at what percentage they're going to cover” the shortfall. Vega said Children's Protection Network (CPN) has historically contributed to CAC and CASA programs but that CPN's annual contributions would not be large enough or reliable enough to cover ongoing salaries; CPN prefers funding one-time costs or special projects rather than recurring personnel expenses.
The committee approved the DCFS and VOCA agreements after motion and second on each item. The record shows motions were made and the voice votes carried; no roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript.
Why it matters: VOCA (the Victims of Crime Act) and DCFS funding support forensic interviews, victim advocacy and therapy for child victims in McLean, Livingston and DeWitt counties. If federal VOCA funds are discontinued, the center faces an unresolved funding gap that could affect advocacy and therapeutic services for children.
The committee's discussion focused on contingency planning and the limits of local fundraising to replace recurring grant funding. Vega and committee members said discussions about alternative funding are ongoing but did not identify any guaranteed replacement source.
