UC Davis Health's Trauma Recovery Center in Sacramento has been cut out of the state's latest round of grant funding, leaving staff racing to plug the gap just as demand for post-trauma care keeps rising. The money crunch follows a shakeup in how criminal-justice savings are calculated after Proposition 36, a shift advocates say is shrinking the pool that once powered trauma recovery services. Center leaders warn that without temporary bridge money, they will have to pull back on outreach, free therapy and other no-cost support for survivors.
Who lost funding and why
Five trauma recovery centers across California, including UC Davis Health in Sacramento, the Alameda County Family Justice Center in Oakland, Cirtus Counseling Services in Redlands, Miracles Counseling in Gardena and the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck center in Los Angeles, were left out of this year’s grant awards, according to The Sacramento Bee. State budget analysts have linked those shutouts to a shrinking revenue stream that previously supported victim services and violence-recovery work. Local centers that count on those competitive grants now face a scramble for replacement funding and the likelihood of longer waitlists for care.
How the money trail works
The grants are funded by savings created under Proposition 47, dollars that flow into the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund before being divvied up to local programs. The Legislative Analyst’s Office reports that the administration projects those Prop. 47 savings to fall from about $94.8 million in 2023-24 to roughly $81.3 million in 2025-26, a 14% drop, and then to about $72.9 million in 2026-27, a 23% decline. The reason, analysts say, is that some of Proposition 36’s changes partially reverse the sentencing reductions that came with Prop. 47. Because state law directs a slice of that fund to victim services, with about 10% set aside for trauma recovery work, every dip in the total pot automatically shrinks what centers can receive, as detailed by the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
What this means in Sacramento
On the UC Davis Health campus, Dr. Michelle Ornelas Knight describes the center’s model as “relentless outreach” to people in crisis, a labor-intensive approach that takes time, money and staff. UC Davis is now hunting for other grants and short-term bridge funding while promising that clients already in the system will not be abandoned, according to The Sacramento Bee. The UC Davis center opened in 2024 with support from the Victim Compensation Board and has since become a crucial local on-ramp for survivors who might not otherwise find their way into care.
Advocates press for $34M in short-term help
Advocates and trauma service networks are urging state leaders to step in with emergency support. The National Alliance of Trauma Recovery Centers has asked for roughly $34 million in state general-fund dollars to stabilize the existing network, according to a Los Angeles County advocacy memo. Families and survivors who rallied at the Capitol have echoed that request and pressed lawmakers to restore flexible assistance programs as well, according to local coverage of the demonstrations. County officials say those asks are now part of the broader budget conversation.
What happens next
The Legislative Analyst’s Office has called on the administration to fix its method for estimating Prop. 47 savings in the May Revision, arguing that the current approach assumes all of Prop. 36’s sentencing changes undo Prop. 47 and therefore understates how much funding is actually available. The May Revision, along with the Legislature’s budget hearings this spring, will determine whether trauma centers receive short-term bridge money or have to shrink services. In the meantime, centers are leaning on other grants, philanthropy and emergency funding while advocates lobby for a stopgap appropriation.
For patients already in care, the near-term fallout is simple and stark: longer waits and fewer outreach visits. Advocates argue that paying for trauma recovery services now helps avoid bigger bills later in emergency rooms, shelters and the criminal-legal system, a tradeoff state budget negotiators will have to weigh in the months ahead.
