Congratulations, your advocacy efforts to protect domestic violence funding worked!
You did it!!! Members of the General Assembly passed a budget yesterday that restored funding for domestic violence services, homeless shelters (including domestic violence shelters), and child advocacy centers to the levels proposed in former Governor Kaine’s budget. The message was persistent, it was clear, and it was effective! It is a direct result of your efforts that victims of domestic violence will still have access to safe shelter and life-saving services.
Take time to celebrate the results of your hard work! Thank you to the Members of the General Assembly, especially the Budget conferees, for protecting these programs!
Now, we await Governor McDonnell’s signature!
So, here’s what it all means in dollars and cents!
We started this session with a budget proposed by former Governor Kaine that included a 7.5% cut for domestic violence services through the Department of Social Services (VDSS), a 5% cut for Sexual Assault Crisis Centers through the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), an 8% cut for homeless intervention services through the Department of Housing and Community Development (DCHD), and a 10% cut to Child Advocacy Centers.
The Budget passed by the General Assembly includes these original cuts to funding, but no more! The statewide reductions to domestic and sexual violence services will be:
- DV Funding at VDSS: $138,750 cut in 2011 & 2012;
- SV Funding at DCJS: $67,500 cut in 2011 & 2012;
- Homeless Funding at DCHD: $400,000 in 2011 & 2012;
- Child Advocacy Centers: $100,000 in 2011 & 2012.
Practically, we believe that the federal increase in the Victim of Crime Act (VOCA) and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) funding will offset these cuts in state funding to sexual and domestic violence services. We will be working with DCHD to learn more about how they intend to manage the 8% cut in funding to homeless intervention services.
What Happened to the Budget Amendment?
The General Assembly did not include the marriage license fee increase in the final budget.
- This is GOOD news in that our requested fee increase which was intended to expand services was not used to restore a funding cut. Therefore the Action Alliance can still ask for an increase in the fee in the future to provide expanded services, such as those for children and youth.
- The downside is that we don’t have dedicated funding for children and youth services. It also means that domestic violence funding was not completely restored to its 2009 levels.
Holding the domestic violence and shelter funding cuts to below 10% is a significant feat in a budget year like this. Every one of you who made a call, wrote a letter, had a visit, spread the news, or got media attention is a part of this success! Here is a sample of just a few of those efforts:
Pre-Lobby Day visits: We asked a group of domestic violence programs to make visits to key legislators before the General Assembly, and many of them responded to the call, including:
- Becky Lee from the YWCA of Richmond and Patricia Jones-Turner from the Chesterfield Resource Center, who met with Delegate Kirk Cox. Delegate Cox later agreed to sign-on as a co-patron of the budget amendment.
- Safe Harbor staff, who met with so many Henrico legislators that we lost count(!), conducted a key visit with Delegate O’Bannon, who then agreed to be the chief patron of the marriage license fee budget amendment.
Legislative Advocacy Day: Those who joined this effort did a great job of tackling multiple visits AND completing the visit feedback forms. Including:
- The Samaritan House crew, who braved the VA Beach traffic and introduced us to the young man working with Positive Controversy, a unique anti-domestic violence public awareness campaign.
- ACTS Turning Points who came down from Dumfries to meet with multiple legislators, even after they spent an hour with the aide of a key legislator before Session even started.
Public Policy Committee Members/Budget Buddies: A big thanks to Susheela Varky, Claire Dunn, Kristie Wilkin, and Mary Beth Pulsifer for being a part of weekly public policy calls throughout the General Assembly session and providing that “on the ground” perspective on policy issues. They also served as “budget buddies” by providing information, following up on alerts, and answering questions for local sexual and domestic violence agencies. This was a phenomenal “extra effort.”
Thank you to Judy Casteele for her leadership, support and guidance as the Action Alliance Governing Body Chair.
Media: We provided a press release and asked local agencies and members to work to get local press coverage of Governor McDonnell’s suggested catastrophic cuts to domestic violence services, and on the House’s proposed cuts as well. Some press/social media included:
- Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault which faithfully included information on the budget on their blog, and updated as things changed.
- Sarah Meachem from Avalon and Candy Phillips from First Step who bravely provided quotes for the initial press release the Action Alliance distributed in response to Governor McDonnell’s proposal. (And who each separately were in their own local press!)
- Tammy Appel, Rappahannock Against Domestic Violence staff member, whose letter to the editor was printed in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
- Hope House of Scott County and the Shelter for Help in Emergency also had local press coverage.
Letters and Calls: We know many, many of you made calls and wrote letters, and we can’t list all of you, so here are just a couple of examples of what local agencies & individuals did:
- Donna Carpenter, the Executive Director of the Laurel Center in Winchester, burned the midnight oil writing and sending letters to her legislators and the conferees.
- Speaking of burning, the Women’s Resource Center of the New River Valley sent so many faxes they burned up their fax machine!
- The Family Resource Center walked around their town and had petitions signed by community members in Wytheville that they sent to their legislators showing the local support for their services.
- And Val Livingston of the Genieve Program in Suffolk who has developed a relationship with Delegate Chris Jones over the years, and then made
Allies: Domestic violence services are important to everyone. A special thank you to the following groups who engaged in grassroots organizing to spread the news of the domestic violence cuts and rally support for restoring funds:
- NOW-Virginia
- Virginia Interfaith Center
- The Farm Team
- Voices for Virginia’s Children
- Virginia Organizing Project, which held a Bake Sale for the Budget.
Patrons and Lobbyists: Our heartfelt thanks to Senator Mary Margaret Whipple and Delegate John O’Bannon for serving as our budget amendment patrons (and Delegate Kirk Cox for co-patroning) and to all of the Budget Conferees who supported restoring our funds.
Finally, a big thank you to our lobbyists, Gena Boyle and Claire Guthrie Gastañaga, who worked tirelessly to get these funds restored (and Chris Spanos who helped explain the complicated and veiled budget process).
Next Steps:
Governor: Now the budget is in the Governor’s hands – he can sign it or amend it. Please call (804-786-2211) or e-mail via www.governor.virginia.gov/TheAdministration/contactGovernor.cfm and ask him to approve the budget as it includes no additional cuts to domestic violence and sexual assault programs
Legislators: The Action Alliance will be sending letters of thanks to the conferees and amendment patrons. If you sent letters to your local legislators, you may want to follow-up with an email of thanks for restoring domestic violence program funding.
Press: If you were successful in getting press coverage of the proposed cuts to domestic violence program funding, you will want to do a follow-up press release to those outlets. Key points to include in the press release:
- Pleased/thankful domestic violence program and shelter funding was not further reduced.
- Be clear this still means a 7% cut in domestic violence program funding, an 8% in shelter funding, and 5% in sexual assault crisis center funding.
- Discuss other local funding cuts or reductions in donations your program has faced.
- Use this as a public awareness opportunity about your funding and donations needs.
Local allies: Thank anyone and everyone locally who also made calls and wrote letters, including your board, volunteers, staff, friends, family, etc. and let them know that their efforts were critical in this positive outcome.
If you have any questions or concerns about this information, please free to contact the Action Alliance.
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