Vermont victim-services agency warns of $1.1M VOCA loss, asks for $115,000 to shore up grants administration

Jennifer Pullman, director of the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services, told the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 25 that the center faces a steep drop in federal and special revenue and asked the committee for $115,000 in general-fund support for grants and financial administration.

Pullman said the largest federal grant the center receives, Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding, fell from $3,000,000 last year to an estimated $1,900,000 for the coming fiscal year, a decline she quantified as a $1,100,000 loss. She also told the committee three federal ARPA grants that currently provide $777,000 to Vermont will end on Sept. 30 and that special fund revenues have been declining for years.

Why it matters: the center distributes most of its funding to local service providers. Pullman said the center administers roughly $10,000,000 in grants statewide, issues more than 240 individual subgrants to about 60 programs, and currently passes through roughly…