The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet announced that it is awarding $1,290,539 to Lotus Children’s Advocacy and Sexual Violence Resource Center.
Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grants are the largest source of federal funding for victim service organizations like Lotus. This year’s award grant award is a 35% reduction from the previous grant year for Lotus. The reduction in funding was anticipated as deposits into the Crime Victims Fund (CVF), from which VOCA grants are drawn, are at an historic low due to changes in the Department of Justice’s prosecutorial decisions.
Though President Biden signed into law the VOCA Fix Act to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021 in July, victim service agencies like Lotus will still experience VOCA budget shortfalls while the CVF is replenished. The Act was urgently needed as it changes how the CVF is administered, bringing more financial stability to the Fund. Without the Fix, the future of the CVF would have been in jeopardy.
“Lotus served more than 1,200 survivors, children, and families in the Purchase Area in 2020-21,” said Brown.
“As we adapt our programs to enhance our core services, we want our community—and most importantly, survivors, children, and families—to know that Lotus continues to meet all people in the Purchase Area who have been impacted by child abuse and sexual violence with a path to safety, healing, and justice.”
“Lotus and the Purchase Area have benefitted from six years of significant increases in VOCA grant awards, allowing us to expand our services and build a visible network of support for survivors and families,” said Lotus board chair Misty Cates, trust operations administrator at Paducah Bank.
“We have amplified the impact of VOCA funding through our partnerships with the shared mission to support survivors, strengthen families, and empower communities to end child abuse and sexual violence, and are grateful to continue building that impact,” said Cates.
