CalVCB details TRC grant NOFA; application due Dec. 15, 2025

The California Victim Compensation Board on Oct. 29 reviewed its Notice of Funds Available (NOFA) for Trauma Recovery Center (TRC) grants and said applications are due by 2 p.m. Pacific time on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025.

A CalVCB staff member told webinar attendees that the only currently known appropriation for the 2026–2028 cycle is $2,000,000 from the restitution fund and that CalVCB also receives front funding tied to the Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act. "Victims do not need to apply and be approved for compensation through CalVCB's program to receive help at a TRC," the staff member said, describing TRCs as sites that provide trauma-informed care and outreach to victims who often lack access to services.

The NOFA requires applicants to follow the Integrated Trauma Recovery Services (ITRS) model developed by the State Pilot TRC at San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). CalVCB described required services as including individual and group treatment, medication management, substance use treatment, case management and assertive outreach; grantees must provide outreach and services to populations such as people who are homeless, people with chronic mental illness, immigrants and refugees, people with disabilities, and family members of homicide victims.

Staff emphasized staffing and clinical requirements: each TRC must have at least one psychologist, one social worker and one psychiatrist (either an employee or contracted clinician), and clinicians may be licensed or supervised clinicians working toward licensure. Each client must have a single point of contact and a documented treatment plan with goals such as reducing psychosocial distress and minimizing long-term disability.

CalVCB said TRC grants are reimbursement-based: TRCs provide services, submit itemized invoices by the last business day of the following month, and CalVCB will reimburse approved expenses generally within 60 to 90 days after receipt and approval of invoices and supporting documentation. "Applications received after 2PM Pacific Standard Time on Monday, 12/15/2025 will be disqualified," the CalVCB staff member said.

Application instructions and scoring: applicants must email a single PDF application to grants@victims.ca.gov and submit a separate Excel budget worksheet. A complete package must include a title page, numbered narrative responses to six questions, the budget worksheet, a budget narrative, a client flowchart, an organizational chart and a time/task plan; missing required items will disqualify an application. Narrative responses are limited to two pages per question, 11-point font, 1-inch margins and double-spaced; CalVCB warned that responses exceeding two pages will not be read.

The application is scored out of 100 points: six narrative questions are worth 60 points in total (10 each), the budget worksheet 10 points, the budget narrative 10 points, the flowchart 5 points, organizational chart 5 points, time/task plan 7 points and letters of recommendation up to 3 points. CalVCB may deduct up to 4 points for formatting infractions. Staff explained that any answer scored 0 on a narrative question results in disqualification and that applicants seeking top scores must state that they will begin services within 30 days of award.

Budget rules and documentation: CalVCB requires at least 75% of grant funds be used for personnel costs, with at least 60% of personnel costs paying for clinicians providing direct client services; no more than 40% of personnel costs may be for nonclinical staff. Operating costs are capped at 25% of the total award, a client emergency fund may be included as part of operating costs but may not exceed 1% of the award, and indirect costs are limited to 5% only for organizations with a current state or federal indirect cost allocation plan. Contractors are reimbursed at an hourly rate without fringe benefits; grantees must submit contractor agreements for preapproval and maintain timesheets or detailed client invoices that meet CalVCB standards.

Reporting and recordkeeping: grantees must submit monthly data reports using CalVCB Excel templates (Excel 2010 or newer) by the last business day of the month following service and retain supporting documentation for at least three years after the grant period. Data may include client demographics, crime information, services provided and referrals, session and case management information, assessment data, training and outreach. CalVCB noted that all submitted applications are public records and that CalVCB may audit expenditures and require refunding funds if it finds supplantation or other disallowed uses.

CalVCB staff said questions must be submitted by 5 p.m. PT on Nov. 4, 2025, via the webinar chat or grants@victims.ca.gov; CalVCB will post answers by 5 p.m. PT on Nov. 13, 2025. Applicants should expect an email confirmation of receipt during CalVCB business hours (Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. PT) and were given a contact (Kyle Archibald) for follow-up if a confirmation is not received.