In a decisive move to keep crucial victim service programs afloat, the Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, chairing the VWAB, alongside the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA), is pushing for a $20 million state investment known as the 'VOCA Bridge' to offset stark federal funding cuts, according to a recent announcement.
The historically low federal funds threaten services that have been long sustained by the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding, and as MOVA's Executive Director Liam Lowney highlighted, these cuts slated for July 1 would not only lead to job losses for service providers but also reduce the support available to victims and survivors, this comes at a time when the demand for such services has seen a notable increase. In the past fiscal year, VOCA Bridge funding sustained over 33,000 individuals, supplementing the federal VOCA support that reached nearly 53,000 in Massachusetts.
Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said,“VOCA funding is a critical tool to serve victims and survivors, providing necessary assistance and support for those personally impacted by violence and subsequent trauma,” said Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. “With the recent cuts in federal funding, it is imperative that we pass VOCA Bridge funding to ensure organizations funded by MOVA continue to have capacity to serve and raise awareness about their services all across the Commonwealth.”
The Massachusetts Legislature had previously earmarked $40 million to support the VOCA Bridge for both the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years, an investment that is now seen as more crucial than ever, to ensure the continued operation of such essential services across the state, Attorney General Campbell along with MOVA are calling for additional investments to safeguard victim services that stand on the brink of losing much-needed funding.
MOVA, an independent state agency dedicated to advancing victim rights, partners with the VWAB under the guidance of Attorney General Campbell, focusing on the administration of both state and federal funds for crime victims and survivors as delineated by the Federal Victims of Crime Act of 1984. For more details on the push for the VOCA Bridge funding and the potential risks without it, MOVA's digital toolkit is available online.
