Kenai children’s advocacy center warns core funding will expire; asks council to consider general‑fund support

Representatives of the Kenai Peninsula Children’s Advocacy Center told the Kenai City Council on May 21 that a major five‑year federal grant that helped pay staff and services for child abuse investigations expires at the end of the city’s fiscal year in June, and the center asked the council to consider adding unrestricted support to the city’s general fund.

The center’s local representative, Morgan Lyons of the Kenai CAC, told council that the nonprofit — operated under the Haven House umbrella in Homer — coordinates law enforcement, the Office of Children’s Services, the district attorney and tribal partners for child abuse, severe neglect and related forensic services. Lyons said the office in Kenai handled “anywhere from 150 to 200 cases a year” out of the center’s wider caseload, and that the national grant awarded after a 2019 federal review of children’s advocacy centers will run out at the end of this fiscal year.

Why it matters: the center provides forensic nursing exams, multi‑disciplinary case coordination and prevention/outreach to schools and caregivers; Lyons said state law requires that children who are part of certain investigations be routed through a children’s advocacy center. Without replacement funding, she warned, the local service is at “high likely probable cause of going away.”

The center’s ask and funding context Lyons told council the center’s annual operating budget (as reported to council) is roughly $315,000–$350,000 and covers staff positions (advocates, manager, part‑time assistant) plus bookkeeping and shared executive‑director costs through its Homer nonprofit sponsor. Lyons said some in‑kind support — for example forensic nursing time and building space at the local public health building — serve as required match for grants the center receives.

She said the 2019 national allocation the centers received was ‘‘about 70‑some million dollars’’ distributed nationally, and that the center’s portion of that funding will expire this year. The CAC also receives a core grant administered through the state Office of Children’s Services and federal victim‑services funds (VOCA), but Lyons said those streams have been cut or are being reduced and recruitment and retention of qualified staff has become difficult without stable local funding.

Council questions and next steps Mayor Gabriel asked for the center’s annual budget; Lyons and City Manager Eubank described the approximate range and the center’s need for a 15% grant match tied to its OCS award. Council members pressed on what other jurisdictions contribute: Lyons said the City of Homer provides a modest annual line item (about $14,000 to its Haven House umbrella), that the borough and local police departments work with the CAC, and that the center’s service area extends from Nikiski to Ninilchik and out to Hope and Seward.

Council members expressed sympathy for the center’s position and several suggested the council can help pursue state funding or consider city support while the council completes its budget process. City Manager Eubank said the council is in budget deliberations and that the issue can be taken up as part of that process.

No formal council appropriation or motion was taken at the May 21 meeting. Lyons told council the center would provide additional case breakdowns on request and encouraged council members to contact state funding offices; council members said they would follow up with the center and that the request will be part of the city’s budget discussions.

Ending With the fiscal‑year deadline approaching in June, Lyons asked for help diversifying the center’s funding and warned that, without it, the locally based service — which handles dozens of cases a year inside the city limits and hundreds across the peninsula — faces a realistic risk of closure. Council members said they will consider the request during the FY2026 budget process and follow up with state contacts and the center’s leadership.