NCA is committed to supporting its members at every level, including legislative advocacy efforts to support the work that we do and the children we serve.
NCA’s federal policy priorities are:
Legislation NCA currently supports includes:
Congress created the Crime Victims Fund in 1984 based on a simple idea: Money the government collects from those who commit crimes should be used to help those victimized by crime. Each year, criminal fines and penalties collected in federal court are deposited into the Crime Victims Fund. The Department of Justice disburses money from this fund to states and other entities to support victim compensation and assistance programs.
In 2019, victim service organizations saw a reduction in the amount of VOCA funds released to states by 25%, followed by an additional 35% reduction in 2020. This was due to a rapidly depleting balance in the Crime Victims Fund. By 2020 it had become obvious that the situation was dire, with the fund projected to reach a 10-year low by the end of 2021 and a balance of $0 not far on the horizon.
Unfortunately, the white-collar criminal prosecutions and fines associated with these crimes (which fill the Crime Victims Fund) are at a two-decade low, meaning the CVF has experienced a number of years of concerningly low deposits. At the same time, the need for these services continues to grow.
Because of this continued critical need, NCA worked closely with Congress to pass the bipartisan, bicameral VOCA Fix Act in 2021 to help grow the Fund. This new law now directs all penalties/fines collected by DOJ in criminal prosecutions into the Fund. Without the VOCA fix, the deposit in 2021 would have been $550 million, and the deposit in 2022 would have been only $291 million. But even with these additional deposits, the CVF has not yet recovered to be able to fully fund critical and needed services. The VOCA Fix was an important step, but because of the current VOCA landscape, VOCA cuts are still happening.
VOCA funding and long-term stability is NCA’s number one advocacy priority here in Washington, as well as with State and local governments, and NCA continues to invest additional resources in these efforts until VOCA is fixed.
Each year, we work with our House and Senate champions to increase funding for the Victims of Child Abuse Act in the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill. We are also advocating for Congress to release as much as possible from the Crime Victims Fund, and will continue to look for additional funding streams for CACs and State Chapters. When a new appropriations bill drops, we will keep our advocates and supporters apprised. At the same time, we are working with our champions in Congress to reauthorize the existing act.
Building on successes in passing the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act in 2015 and the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act/Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (FOSTA/SESTA) in 2018, NCA now continues the fight on behalf of children victimized by CSAM and other forms of exploitation, working with fellow advocates on trafficking legislation, most recently in supporting:
The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act This act requires amateur athletics governing bodies like USA Gymnastics and other amateur sports organizations to report sex-abuse allegations to local or federal law enforcement, or a child-welfare agency designated by the Justice Department within 24 hours. Among other things, this new law also makes sure that all national governing bodies follow the strictest standards for child abuse prevention, detection, and investigation, makes it safe and easy for victims to report abuse and mandates oversight to ensure strong sexual-abuse prevention policies are implemented. Even more, this new law extends the statute of limitations. NCA worked closely with Senator Feinstein and other champions on this new law and will continue working with champions on implementation.
Statutory definitions of Children’s Advocacy Centers State statutes that clearly define Children’s Advocacy Centers and their role in the response to allegations of criminal child abuse, support the development of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) model, the expansion of services and the pursuit of resources to assure the success and long-term viability of the proven approach to providing justice and healing to child victims of abuse. The adoption of such legislation clearly conveys policy makers’ vision for, support of, and belief in the CAC/MDT model as the preferred response to allegations of abuse. This in-turn can provide surety to the child welfare and judicial system, victims and non-offending caregivers that their case is being handled in the most professional manner available. Furthermore, it lays a foundation whereby funders, both public and private, can be assured that their investment of resources will benefit their intended target.
State funding legislation for Children’s Advocacy Centers
A secure and stable source of core funding is essential to the long term viability of Children’s Advocacy Centers. While no source of funding is an absolute guarantee from year to year, some sources are more stable than others. Governmental funds dedicated to Children’s Advocacy Centers tend to be one of the more stable sources. Nationally approximately 33.8% of the dollars flowing to Children’s Advocacy Centers come at the discretion of state governments. The potential for growth in this area is tremendous considering that 11 states currently receive no state support and 7 receive very little (less than $240,000 with a low of 27,189.
Abuse prevention education NCA is generally in support of Child Sex Abuse Prevention Education laws that require age appropriate child sex abuse prevention education in schools for children, educators, and staff. This legislation is commonly referred to as Erin’s Law or Jenna’s Law.