February 8, 2021
As many of you are aware, the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2021 budget includes a cap on the Crime Victims Fund of $2,015,000,000 ($2.015B). The cap includes the following transfers and set asides:
$435 million transferred to the Office on Violence Against Women;
$10 million for the Inspector General’s Office; and
5 percent set aside ($101 million) for grants to Indian Tribes.
After all obligations and transfers are made, NAVAA is estimating the VOCA Assistance allocation for FFY21 to be approximately $1,091,233,071 ($1.091B). Based on this calculation the estimated decrease for FFY 2021 is a 34.6% decrease from the FFY20 allocations. Please keep in mind that this is just an estimate based on our own calculations of what is known to be coming out of the appropriation.
Over the last few years there have been many discussions around a decrease in funding levels and states trying to plan for the future. The impacts are significant and brings a lot of challenges to the work all state adminsitrators are doing and supporting in victim services. Whether you are a seasoned VOCA Administrator, or new; remember that NAVAA is here to support you. If you have questions or are looking for ideas on what other states are doing or plan on doing, please reach out to your NAVAA Regional Representative or myself.