Massive cuts to the Victims of Crime Act funding impacting local organizations

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - A federal funding cut for the Victims of Crimes Act (VOCA) could impact organizations that support victims and survivors of crime in Colorado. Over the past few years, the federal fund has received fewer deposits, leading to a massive cut for victims' support funding.

"A cut this big has never happened to the victims of crime act.," Maureen Basenberg with Safe Passage said. "I've been in this field for over 20 years. VOCA is bread and butter for those of us who serve victims."

Basenburg works for an organization that supports children in the aftermath of child abuse. She says the funding makes up a chunk of her budget every year, and she will begin to need to ask for more donations from the community to keep the organization afloat.

"No one stepped forward. And  so what does that say in terms of our priority, in terms of making sure that victims have what they need?" Basenburg said.

Simultaneously, at the state level, Governor Polis signed a bill into law on Wednesday that will make it easier for victims to get restitution for crimes committed against them. The funding comes from a different piece of federal law but is funded similarly with similar intent to support those impacted by crime.

"It's not a funding decision, but it's a change in terms of making it easier for victims to access the supports that that we can provide to them. So it's a positive, definitely," Basenburg said.