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Victim Services Support Program

Grantee Meeting May 2021

 

VOCA Fix 2021

Find out how the bill is doing in the Senate. 

To find the twitter handle of your Senators, visit https://triagecancer.org/congressional-social-media.

Please add the hashtags: #NAVAA2021 #VOCAFIX #Crisis4Victims when posting so we can see the final products!

Sample Tweets to a Senator who is NOT a sponsor (click here to check):

.[@Senator] Lifesaving services for victims are on the line. There is a #Crisis4Victims. Honor Crime Victims' Rights Week by sponsoring S.611, the #VOCAFix Act ASAP! The House passed their bill - it’s your turn! https://tinyurl.com/23drue5v

.[@Senator] Don't let VOCA go over the cliff. Pass H.R.1652/S.611, the #VOCAFix Act. #Crisis4Victims +1,710 victims’ rights orgs +56 Attorneys General & national orgs have asked for this fix https://tinyurl.com/23drue5v.  Honor Crime Victims' Rights Week by sponsoring S.611

Sample Tweets to a Senator who IS a sponsor (click here to check)

.[@Senator] Lifesaving services for victims are on the line. There is a #Crisis4Victims. Thank you for sponsoring S.611, the #VOCAFix Act! Honor Crime Victims' Rights Week by talking to your colleagues about S.611. https://tinyurl.com/23drue5v

.[@Senator] Don't let VOCA go over the cliff. #Crisis4Victims Thnx for sponsoring the #VOCAFix Act! During Crime Victims' Rights Week, talk to your colleagues about S.611 +1,710 victims’ rights orgs +56 Attorneys General & orgs have asked for this fix https://tinyurl.com/23drue5v

Here is a REMINDER from Daisy Pagan, the NAVAA Director about today's DAY of ACTION. 

Attached please find the action alert announcing TODAY’S Day of Action for the VOCA Fix.  The alert is encouraging those who can to call or email their Senators and urge them to sponsor and pass S.611, the bipartisan, bicameral VOCA Fix Act.  If they are already sponsors, thank them and ask them to encourage their colleagues to sponsor S.611.  A toolkit with information about how to find their contact information, sample telephone scripts, and sample email can be found here. Check here to see if your Senators are already sponsors.

 

Sample tweets can be found in the toolkit.  Impact graphics can also be shared on social media during this time!  Please add the hashtags: #NAVAA2021; #VOCAFIX and #Crisis4Victims when posting so we can see the final products!

This website will take you to the Senators who are co-sponsoring the VOCA Fix. 

Thank you for all you do!

4/20/2021:
April 21, 2021 was the national day of advocacy to Congress to pass the VOCA bill. CVAD has updated graphics and resources for you to share on your social media channels. We want this to trend all day if possible on twitter and we want to keep their phones ringing off the hook!  We currently have 40 Senate co-sponsors (both Grassley and Ernst are in that 40). Our messaging is to ask the Senate to act on S.611 and to continue to thank them for their leadership.  The national stakeholders have updated the social media toolkit and those resources can be found here. 

Iowa VOCA Assistance Infographic
Iowa Comp Infographic 

CVAD Director Janelle Melohn's messaging regarding the VOCA Fix 2021 are below: 

3/4/2021:
I’m excited to tell you that the Crime Victims Fund Sustainability Act of 2021: The VOCA Fix, or VOCA Fix Act of 2021 for short, is being introduced in the House with strong bipartisan support.  The identical text will be introduced in the Senate, also with bipartisan cosponsors, in the next few days.  I want to provide all of our programs with the information necessary to do any education, or advocacy on this bill.

Attached are the following:

  1. Iowa VOCA Factsheet
  2. Iowa FFY20 VOCA Impact Infographic
  3. Iowa VOCA Talking Points
  4. Iowa VOCA Talking Point updated March 2021 
  5. VOCA Graphic 1 (for social media use)
  6. VOCA Graphic 2 (for social media use)
  7. VOCA Fix Act 2021 Final Bill Text  

(Last two attachments are repurposed VOCA graphics from the first big push in late 2020)

House and Senate Press Releases:

Senate:

House: 

National Resource Links and Info:

  • Letter in support of VOCA bill signed by more than 1,680 national, regional, state, tribal, and local organizations and government agencies
  • Letter in support of some of the provisions in the VOCA bill from the 56 State and Territorial Attorneys General
  • VOCA fast facts

Social Media outreach and awareness:
Use these hashtags: #VOCAFix  #Crisis4Victims
Twitter handles: To find the twitter handle of your representative and senators, visit this link.

As a reminder, the bill will do the following:

  • direct federal criminal settlements from non-prosecution and deferred prosecution agreements, currently deposited into the General Treasury, into the Fund. This change could add $4-$7 billion to the Fund over the next few years, stabilizing not only VOCA-funded programs, but the other justice assistance grant programs that rely on the Fund to support the entire DOJ appropriations bill (VAWA, discretionary grants, etc.);
  • increase the percentage that state compensation programs may be reimbursed from 60 percent to 75 percent;
  • give the US Atty Gen. the power to offer no-cost extensions on VOCA awards; 
  • give states the ability to waive the local match for VOCA assistance grants for the duration of the pandemic; 
  • provide additional flexibility for compensation programs to provide support for victims even if they do not interact with law enforcement prior to providing assistance; and,
  • eliminate the requirement for compensation programs to deduct restitution recoveries from state payouts for the purpose of calculating VOCA grants.


Follow up message: 

The US Senate has just introduced the “VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act” bill  (aka – VOCA Fix bill). The whole field is beginning to flood Congress with education and advocacy on passing this bill as we speak so please pass along the information to anyone you think would benefit from seeing it.

Senator Grassley is one of the four Republican co-sponsors on the bill (others are: R’s-Cornyn, Graham, Murkowski; D’s-Durbin, Baldwin, Klobuchar, Feinstein), which is a really big deal. Outreach to Iowa’s congressional delegation is important and any messaging to Sen. Grassley’s office should really include some kudos for his leadership on this issue. The House ran into delays in introduction due to the unexpected cancellation of their session today due to possible threats. We expect the House to introduce it in the very near future as well and I’m told it will be the same language.

There are new social media graphics developed by one of the national victim service agencies to use to generate support. The social media toolkit can be found here.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at Janelle.Melohn@ag.iowa.gov or to any of the three coalitions. Thank you! - Janelle Melohn

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General Grant Funding, Application and Review Process

The Crime Victim Assistance Division of the Iowa Attorney's Office generally awards their victim services grant funds for three-year grant cycles. CVAD's victim service funding is concentrated into two  focus areas: criminal justice grants and victim services grants. CVAD anticipates releasing the next round of funding in two phases. The request for criminal justice funding applications/grant solicitation is expected to be released in November 2021. The request for victim services funding applications/grant solicitation is expected to be released in January 2022. 

Criminal Justice Grants

Criminal justice grants are awarded to non profit organizations, law enforcement agencies, courts, victim witness coordinators and prosecutors. The majority of funding for criminal justice grant is STOP and VOCA; the projects funded include violence against women prosecutors, victim witness coordinators, DART and SART teams, violence against women law enforcement efforts and community coordinated response teams. 

Victim Services Grants

Victim services grants are awarded to non profit organizations, govermental agencies and institutes of higher education. Victims services grants fund projects and programs designed to assist crime victims with healing after victimization.  These grants are for comprehensive victim services agencies, culturally specific agencies and organizations who serve victims in specific capacity.  

 CVAD is transitioning to a new grants management system and will update this page as we complete our transition to the new system. 

Grant Review

The submitted proposals are reviewed and evaluated by a volunteer grant review committee. The committee is made up of persons with expertise in victim services, grant management, and public policy.

The review committee and CVAD staff submit their recommendations for funding to the Crime Victim Assistance Board. The Board determines final grant awards to the extent funds are available and to the extent the applicants meet eligibility criteria.

Click here for more information on grant eligibility, required grant certificates, and required grant reports.

Click here for administrative rules governing the VSS Program.

The VSS Program administers grant funds that provide partial funding to local and statewide crime victim service programs in Iowa.

 

Grantee Resources

 

 

Contact Information

Office of the Attorney General of  Iowa
Crime Victim Assistance Division
Lucas State Office Building
321 East 12th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319

Phone: 515-281-5044
Toll-Free: 800-373-5044
FAX: 515-281-8199

For more information contact Victim Services Support Program Administrator Lori Miller.

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