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Funding and Appropriations

Together, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs, the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Fund, and related programs create and support comprehensive responses to the needs of victims of domestic violence.

Federal funding for VAWA, VOCA, and FVPSA has enhanced federal, tribal, state, and local responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking and has supported lifesaving emergency shelters and services for domestic violence victims and other crime victims.

FVPSA, VOCA, and VAWA funding support domestic violence shelters, law enforcement, courts, rape crisis centers, children’s services, prevention, community outreach, and other state and local programs that provide services for victims and families. These programs have made significant progress toward ending domestic and sexual violence. In addition to saving lives, VAWA, FVPSA, and VOCA save money by reducing future violence and other related social costs.

Current Updates on Federal Funding

Desperate Need Remains

Despite this progress, shelters and other domestic and sexual violence service providers continue to face budget shortfalls. Many programs are forced to turn away victims who are desperate and have nowhere to go. The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV)’s annual Domestic Violence Counts Report finds that, in just one day each year, tens of thousands of adults and children receive desperately needed services from local domestic violence programs. Tragically, thousands more are turned away because programs simply do not have the resources to meet their needs.

Appropriations Priorities

VOCA:

VOCA uses non-taxpayer money from the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) for programs that directly serve victims of crime, including state-formula victim assistance grants. These funds, which are generated by fines and penalties from federal prosecutions and non-prosecution and deferred prosecution agreements, support services to over six million victims of all types of crimes annually, through almost 6,500 direct service organizations, such as domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, and child abuse treatment programs.

It is imperative that Congress provide $1.9 billion for VOCA programs in FY26. If the CVF cannot sustain this level of funding, Congress must find other ways to maintain steady funding for this vital program.

We urge Congress to:

  • Provide $1.9 billion for VOCA programs in FY25 to address the urgent needs of victims of crime;
  • Reject proposals that use the VOCA fund to pay for other U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) programs since that reduces funding for direct victim services;
  • Pass the Crime Victim Fund Stabilization Act that provides additional funding to VOCA, from surplus funds generated by the False Claims Act (FCA); and
  • Support a continued federal funding stream from VOCA for tribes. Individuals on tribal lands experience disproportionately high rates of domestic and sexual violence and need funding for victim services.

VAWA:

VAWA programs are at the heart of our nation’s response to domestic violence. Each of these programs is critical to ensuring that victims are safe and our communities are more secure. Key programs within VAWA include:

  • The Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) is the only federal funding dedicated to the provision of direct services to victims of sexual violence.
  • The Transitional Housing grant program provides an essential continuum between emergency shelter and permanent safe housing for survivors fleeing violence.
  • The Legal Assistance for Victimsprogram addresses the legal needs of victims. It provides practical solutions and long-term stability for victims and their children, and helps to lower incidents of domestic violence.

FVPSA:

FVPSA funds emergency shelters, crisis lines, counseling, victim assistance, and other vital services for over 1.3 million domestic violence victims and their children each year. FVPSA funding has remained relatively stagnant, resulting in inadequate services available for victims in need. As the only dedicated federal funding source for domestic violence services, FVPSA must be fully funded.

DELTA:

In addition to the shelter and supportive services funded by FVPSA, communities need resources to advance prevention efforts—to stop violence before it starts. In 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancements and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA) Program to focus on the primary prevention of intimate partner violence.

Administered by the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, this program represents a modest but vital investment of $7.5 million annually – the only dedicated federal funding source specifically for preventing domestic violence before it occurs. The DELTA Program operates in 13 states and approximately 45 communities nationwide, advancing strategies to prevent both first-time perpetration and victimization. It supports state-driven, community-based solutions that are tailored to local needs, creating a ripple effect that promotes healthy families, safe communities, and strong local economies. (Learn more from the CDC here.)

Domestic Violence Housing Program at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD):

Domestic violence is consistently identified as a significant factor in homelessness. A staggering 92% of women experiencing homelessness report having experienced severe physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives, and upwards of 50% of all homeless women report that domestic violence was the immediate cause of their homelessness.

Advocates and survivors identify housing as a primary need of survivors and a critical component in survivors’ long-term safety and stability. Although safe housing can give a survivor a pathway to freedom, there are many barriers that prevent survivors from maintaining or obtaining safe and affordable housing. Many survivors face the impossible choice between staying with or returning to their abusers or becoming homeless because they cannot find or afford safe, long-term, permanent housing.

Dedicated funds for survivor-specific housing allow survivors to rebuild their lives after abuse. An ongoing set-aside in the HUD Continuum of Care homelessness assistance program is essential to create housing options for survivors of domestic violence.

Funding for Immigrant Victims:

Immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other crimes often face barriers when seeking safety and protection, including threats from abusers and perpetrators that reaching out for help will jeopardize their status.

To address these barriers, a bipartisan majority in Congress passed VAWA to provide immigrant victims with essential protections to allow them to seek help without fear of abuser retaliation. Later, Congress established the T and U visa programs through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) to facilitate the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity and to protect victims who come forward, in recognition of the many barriers survivors face in reaching out for help.

These protections, along with our asylum laws, were created so that victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking may seek paths to safety and security in the United States. To fulfill this goal, we request that funds be utilized to improve efficiencies in adjudicating these benefits and to ensure that funds are not used to undermine the bipartisan laws Congress created over the past two decades to protect survivors and ensure continued access to these protections without fear.