Prosecutor urges county to fund victim-witness coordinator after federal VOCA cuts; committee approves request

Miss Cruz, the county prosecuting attorney, told the Faulkner County Budget and Finance Committee that recent federal VOCA cuts reduced funding for victim-witness coordinator positions and asked the county to fund one remaining coordinator for 2026.

"We have suffered now 4 victim witness coordinator cuts from the federal VOCA grant," Miss Cruz said, describing the office's need to restore staff that support crime victims and meet state victim-notification requirements.

Miss Cruz told the committee the county covered positions last year after the VOCA reductions and asked that the council fund the final position for 2026. She said once the VOCA grant situation stabilizes the office will no longer return seeking county support for this position.

Committee members voted to approve fund 1000.0416 (the prosecuting attorney budget) and allocated related victim-services funding. The committee recorded the approval by voice vote; no formal roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.

Next steps: staff will reflect the appropriation in the county's 2026 budget schedules and the prosecuting attorney's office will provide updates to the committee if grant funding changes.