S.C. lawmakers urged to offset cuts to victim services
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Victim advocates are voicing concerns about services that could be lost after cutbacks in federal funding.
Organizations that work closely with the Crime Victim Services Division of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office are asking the South Carolina General Assembly for funding to help offset those cuts.
One of those nonprofits, called the Crime Victims Council, said funds from the Victims of Crimes Act, or VOCA, help to offset costs for things like legal fees. Those funds also help educate victims on their rights and pay for counseling and even funeral resources, should a life be lost as the result of a crime.
With the cut in federal funding, Laura Hudson, executive director of the Crime Victims Council, said this could limit the services available to victims of crimes across the state.
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According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, VOCA funding comes from deposits into the Crime Victims Fund. The organization said those deposits have shrunken significantly, causing the U.S. Congress to cut $700 million in funding for victims advocate resources in the 2024 fiscal year.
$31 million in VOCA funds in South Carolina went to victims advocate resources, according to 2023 to 2024 data from the S.C. Attorney General’s website.
Attorney General Alan Wilson is asking the General Assembly for $15 million in the fiscal budget to help offset this loss in federal funding.
This would maintain a number of these resources, including crime victims advocates at law enforcement agencies.
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So far, the S.C. Senate has proposed a $5 million allotment, while the S.C. House of Representatives put forth a $3 million proposal.
Autumn Furniss, a crime victim’s advocate with the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Department, said she worries the loss of this funding may be detrimental to being able to properly help victims here in the midlands.
“You don’t want us to continue to feel that burden, you want somebody to aid and help, you know, you go through a traumatic event, and you need counseling ... we’re not here because we’re not funded to be able to point you in the counseling directions,” Furniss said.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott is also chiming in on the need to keep the funding. Lott said he feels the money should be funded through the state.
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“Victims have rights and cutting money is going to hurt those victim’s bad. So, it’s not money. We’re talking about people. I think that’s a big difference that sometimes we lose sight. These are people’s lives. These are people’s feelings that we’re dealing with,” Lott said.
Hudson said the money from the VOCA fund will hold up until the fall of this year, but said after Oct. 1, 93 state and local agencies will have to rely on the funding approved by the General Assembly.
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