North Dakota domestic violence organizations brace for federal funding cut – InForum

BISMARCK — Advocates for people affected by domestic and sexual violence in North Dakota are bracing for a sharp drop in federal funding over the next two years at a time when they are seeing an increase in violence.

Lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session are expected to face budget requests for additional state funding to make up for the loss of federal funding, as well as a separate request for support for nonprofit providers.

“We’ve seen a very significant increase in violence across the state of North Dakota,” Liz Schneider, executive director of the McLean Family Resource Center in Washburn, told lawmakers last month. “Especially since the COVID pandemic ended, we’re seeing higher levels of mortality and levels of violence that are almost unfathomable.”

Organizations that help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault receive about half of their funding from federal and local sources, Coiya Tompkins Inman, president of the Community Violence Intervention Center in Grand Forks, said during a recent meeting of the Legislature’s Interim Human Services Committee. About 16% of the funding came from state funds, and private donations made up 33%, she said.

Much of the federal funding comes from the Crime Victims Act Fund, which has seen its balance nationally plummet.

North Dakota expects to award $3.4 million in federal Victims of Crime Act funds this fiscal year and $2.4 million next year, said Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation communications director Kayli Richards. That’s down from the average annual funding of $5.2 million over the past few years, she said. Those dollars helped assist more than 17,000 crime victims last year, she said.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation plans to request additional state funding in the 2025-27 budget to make up for the projected loss, Richards said. Details of the budget request are still being worked out.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services will submit its own proposal to support programs that help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault across the state. The agency said it has not finalized a budget request. The programs are seeking $19 million in state funding for 2025-27, more than double the amount they received in 2023-25, according to a presentation to lawmakers.

Seth O’Neill, executive director of CAWS North Dakota, said the coalition against domestic and sexual violence is made up of 19 different organizations across the state.

“In these smaller communities, they are often the primary source that people turn to for help because they know these programs will help them,” O’Neill told lawmakers.

According to the latest crime rate report released by the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office, crimes against persons in North Dakota increased by 11.5% in 2021, remained flat in 2022 and increased by about 3% in 2023.

Last year, about 30% of the victim-perpetrator relationship was a boyfriend or girlfriend, spouse or ex-spouse, or intimate partner, the report found. The categories of rape, aggravated assault, simple assault, intimidation and stalking all increased last year. The numbers do not include statistics from tribal law enforcement and do not include cases that were not reported to law enforcement.

O’Neill said he is hearing from service providers about an increase in violence that may not be reflected in the statistics.

“Even if the crime rate isn’t going up significantly, it’s going to be more deadly and more serious,” O’Neill said in an interview. “The threat level is going up dramatically.”

Last year, CAWS North Dakota organizations assisted more than 7,400 victims of domestic or sexual violence. In sexual assault cases, about half of the crimes were reported to law enforcement, according to CAWS.

The organizations saw an increase in state funding from the Legislature for the 2023-25 ​​biennium. Funding from the Department of Health and Human Services increased to about $7.5 million, compared to about $3 million in 2021-23.

“The funding we received last session was historic for our business,” Tompkins Inman said.

This increase allowed programs to increase salaries, which in turn allowed them to recruit and retain staff and invest more resources in prevention activities.

But even with the additional resources, there were needs that weren’t being met. On September 6, 2023, organizations responded to a study conducted by the National Network to End Domestic Violence. Within 24 hours, victims in North Dakota had submitted 70 requests for services that weren’t being met because programs weren’t adequately resourced.

These programs aim to leverage additional state funding to assist victims of domestic violence, strengthen the prevention of sexual violence, and provide a safe haven for family exchanges and visits.

This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com