Victim services director warns cuts to federal grants could close Vermont’s victim services hub and jeopardize subgrantee programs

Jennifer Pullman, director of the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services, and Carol Brochu, the center’s director of finance and administration, told the House Appropriations Committee on April 17 that the center depends on federal funding for a majority of its operations and that further reductions or termination of federal grants would severely curtail victim services across Vermont.

“Other than the military, we are an outlier in terms of how much we rely on federal funds,” Pullman said, summarizing materials the center provided to the committee and a Joint Fiscal Office report. She said federal funding makes up about 55% of the center’s budget and that the agency receives less than $2 million in state general funds, most of which are pass-through.

Pullman and Brochu said the center serves as the state’s primary pass-through and administrator for federal victim services grants. Pullman told lawmakers the center issues over 200 grants annually and supports 57 subgrantees or network programs that deliver services such as child advocacy, legal assistance, restorative justice, and programs for underserved communities. “If we were to lose federal funding, the center would close its doors,” she said.

Brochu summarized financial trends and program reliance. She said the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding that supports many programs has declined from roughly $6.7 million in 2018 to about $1.9 million currently. Brochu said the center is already managing a $1.1 million VOCA funding deficit this year. She cautioned that this reduction translates into lost positions and fewer services: “This supports almost 28 full-time positions,” she said of one major grant’s funding impact.

The directors described other specific budget issues. Brochu noted that the Violence Against and Services Protection (VISPA) line included roughly $600,000 in ARPA funds that will expire, reducing the VISPA allocation in State Fiscal Year 2026; she said FY24 VISPA funding was $1,437,000 and the FY26 projected budgeted amount is $997,000, with a non-ARPA baseline closer to $763,000.

The center also administers the statutorily required victim compensation program, Brochu said, and cited $268,000 in federal dollars budgeted this year for compensation payments. The center uses federal funds to pay a portion of its staff who administer and monitor subgrants; Brochu said those administrative portions have been sharply reduced over time and now account for a much smaller share of overhead support.

Pullman and Brochu described operational risks from federal scrutiny during the recent federal grant freeze and subsequent reviews. They said federal grant administrators, including staff from the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), have requested subgrantee materials and that the requests have placed a heavy administrative burden on small providers: “They would like to see all the presentations and PowerPoints provided by all of our subgrantees during the past couple of years,” Brochu said, adding that could be more than 100 items to collect.

Committee members asked what would happen to programs if the center could not distribute federal funds. Brochu said Vermont statute designates the center as the pass-through for federal victim services grants and that no alternative, statutory entity exists to assume that role quickly. She stressed that the center provides monitoring, technical assistance, and grant-management support the subgrantees rely on, including site visits and audits performed on federal schedules.

Ending: Pullman and Brochu urged lawmakers to recognize the statewide coverage of the center’s grants and the short-term impacts of cuts on front-line providers. “These are programs that have relied on those (federal funds) to support the amount of FTEs…Those positions would be eliminated,” Brochu said. The committee thanked the presenters and indicated staff follow-up and continued monitoring would be appropriate.