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Milwaukee County Courthouse. (Photo by Isaiah Holmes)
Christina Jackson, a domestic violence victim who suffers from depression, said Disability Rights Wisconsin supported her throughout the court process and even after it was over. The help she received through Disability Rights Wisconsin’s Victim Assistance Program came from her advocate, Pam Marin, a Disability Rights Wisconsin attorney who was with her at the trial, who helped her connect with community resources and helped her move after her son began reliving the trauma at home.
Jackson, a social worker, said she had “never been in such an extreme situation” or been in a position where she needed help.
“I realized that when I was in a position where I needed help, I didn’t really know where to go, and that’s when DRW helped me feel comfortable and accept help.”
Thanks to the help the organization provided, Jackson and her son are in what she describes as a “really good” place: They’re in a new home, and Jackson is working with youth in a nonprofit program in Milwaukee.
“I’m grateful. I’m happy to be alive. And…” [I’m] It allows us to give back to the community,” Jackson said.
The same DRW program that helped Jackson and so many other victims for years is now facing funding cuts.
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Through the program, Nadia Rosen, managing attorney for DRW’s victim assistance program, told the Examiner that disabled victims of crimes “can come to us when they need help understanding the legal process, reporting a crime, or obtaining representation in a family law case that arises in part from or is related to a crime.” This includes victims of all kinds of crimes, including domestic violence, sexual assault, and robbery, and since 2019, DRW has received $872,000 from the state of Wisconsin to do this work.
The majority of funding for DRW’s victim assistance programs comes through the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Office of Crime Victim Services. The office receives about $44.5 million annually from the federal Department of Justice to administer Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grants. But this year, due to a federal funding shortfall, the Wisconsin Office of Crime Victim Services will only receive $13 million.
Federal funds allocated to states, including Wisconsin, come from fines and penalties collected from individuals and businesses convicted of federal crimes, and have fallen from more than $4 billion to $1.5 billion as of May.
As a result of the cuts, Wisconsin organizations applying for VOCA grants for 2024-25 can only apply for up to $250,000 (and may not receive the full amount).
DRW is now looking to fill the gap of $620,000 per year.
“There’s not a single grant we can get that’s going to fill that hole,” Rosen said.
Federal and state governments and advocacy groups knew the funding shortfall was coming, but with limited funding from Wisconsin and a lack of Congressional action, Rosen is fighting to raise funds so DRW can continue to carry out its full range of work.
Earlier this year, the Wisconsin Legislature passed a bill signed by Governor Tony Evers that seeks to fill some of those gaps by allocating $6.4 million for sexual assault victim assistance grants, $2.4 million for domestic violence grants and $1.2 million for child advocacy grants, totaling $10 million.
Rosen noted that while the funding is beneficial, it is temporary, ending in June 2025. Additionally, Disability Rights Wisconsin is not eligible to receive a portion of the funding, and the funding does not cover the full scope of victim support work DRW does.
“That’s really where the crisis is coming from,” Rosen said.
The organization said that because of the structure of the program, it is not eligible to receive funding to help victims of sexual assault, but that DRW is eligible to receive funding to help victims of domestic violence and is in the process of applying.
Rosen said DRW has also applied for several federal grants through the Office of Violence Against Women, including a Legal Assistance Grant for Victims, an Assistance and Services Grant for the Underserved and a local grant, which she said will “get us through to some extent.”
But Rosen noted that these grants are limited to helping victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking, leaving a big gap for other victims that DRW has been helping in past years.
“People with disabilities are disproportionately targeted and victimized by crime. It’s not just domestic violence and sexual assault that they experience. In fact, they’re disproportionately affected by identity theft, theft in general, harassment, stalking. There’s also assault, neglect, which is what sometimes happens when caregivers have to come into their homes. … I can’t use other grant money to work with people who have been victimized in that way,” Rosen said. “That means all of the people that we worked with under the VOCA grant will no longer be able to get services, and they won’t be able to get services from anyone else.”
Rosen said that in Wisconsin, regular and predictable funding, whether it comes through the Legislature or state funding, “gives us the strength to support victim services.”
A bipartisan group of 42 attorneys general, including Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, called on Congress in February to stabilize VOCA funding.
But in the meantime, many organizations, including DRW, will continue to deal with the reality of the cuts and find ways to continue providing services, Rosen said.
“Those of us who work with victims are always hoping that funding levels don’t drop too much and that funding will be stable,” Rosen said. “It’s really hard to plan ahead and not worry about the longevity of the program when you know there are these ups and downs depending on whether the fund is full or whether Congress agrees to it this year.”
“Disability Rights Wisconsin faces cuts to victim advocacy grants” originally appeared in the Wisconsin Examiner.