CJCC explains new funding for child-advocacy, domestic-violence and sexual-assault centers; flags integration costs with Georgia at Work

The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) presented amended FY26 items covering victim services, grants management and IT integration.

CJCC representatives said the house added $435,000 to provide funding to child advocacy centers that previously were excluded because they were not members of the state membership association; the agency said centers certified to state minimum standards would receive allocations. The CJCC said the house also included approximately $4.525 million in one-time funding for operational facility needs at domestic-violence shelters and sexual-assault centers; the house provided an intent breakdown of $50,000 per domestic-violence shelter (34 shelters) and $5,050 per sexual-assault center (34 centers) that equates to the total.

On systems integration, CJCC explained that connecting its grants and victim-compensation financial systems to the statewide Georgia at Work platform is complex and still in discovery; the most recent integration estimate ranged from $425,000 to $575,000, and agency officials said they expect additional clarity as Georgia at Work development continues. CJCC described its current grants-management practices: quarterly or monthly expense reporting (depending on the grantee), site visits and documentation of audits; the agency also recounted work to monitor 24/7 hotlines and to respond to complaints, including transferring the adult human-trafficking hotline to a CJCC-managed number after local gaps were identified.

Committee members sought detail on oversight, audits and how funds are tracked; CJCC said it performs annual site visits, documents findings, and refers significant issues to the Office of the Inspector General or Department of Audits when appropriate. The committee did not vote on appropriation items and asked CJCC for any additional breakdowns requested by the house.