Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Advocacy Resources

Why children and families need VOCA

The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) provides funding for victim services out of the Crime Victims Fund (CVF), and it has become an important source of support for CACs across the country. The money in the fund is all nontax dollars—it comes from fines and penalties paid by convicted federal offenders.

Yet today, 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, Congress passed the bipartisan, bicameral VOCA Fix Act in 2021 to help grow the CVF. This new law now directs all penalties/fines collected by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in criminal prosecutions into the CVF. 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.

What we're doing to fix it

Our champions in Congress have introduced the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act, H.R. 8061 in the House and S.4514 in the Senate. NCA is on the Hill every day championing the CAC cause, and with the calls, emails, and visits from our nationwide advocacy network, we now stand at 100 bipartisan co-sponsors out of the 435 members of the House. 

By the end of August, our goal is to add another 30-40 House co-sponsors. Of course, we will keep pushing for more when they return early in September. 

On the Senate side, we are focused on adding Senate cosponsors – both Democrat and Republican. Please reach out to your senators and ask them to co-sponsor S.4514, the Senate version of the CVF Stabilization Act.

How you can help

1. Ask your representative to sign on; thank them if they have

Please check the current list of Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act co-sponsors here. If your House member is on it, please send them an email or call thanking them for their support. It's critical to build a relationship for the long haul, and your recognition of their support means everything. 

If you don’t see their name, please keep calling and asking them to support H.R. 8061.

See if Your Rep Is a Co-Sponsor Yet

Members of Congress pay attention to how many constituents care enough to contact them about an issue, so taking a few minutes to call or email your U.S. representative would be a huge help. 

2. Schedule a Congressional tour of your CAC

Not much about Congress is predictable, but one thing that is: August Recess. This is when members of Congress stop their work (in DC) for the month and return home to their districts where you live and where your CACs operate. Yes, they might have a bit of time off, but that doesn't mean they stop working. They are also home in part to meet with constituents.

This is s why it's a critical time to ask your House Member to visit your CAC and talk to them first-hand about your good work and the impact of any VOCA cuts on your services. No one knows better than you the critical need for your services.

Now is the time to get your member's undivided attention on the CAC mission at the most critical time on the calendar.

Ask your member's district office staff to bring the member in for a tour of your CAC. Yes, even if your member is already a co-sponsor. Even if your member has already come in for a tour before...how long has it been? How have you grown? Invite your MDT members to join you in these meetings to further show the impact VOCA has on our partners.

Call Your Rep, Schedule a Tour

Chapters: You can help by working with your CACs to organize CAC tours for Senators in a coordinated way.  Please make sure your two Senators get a CAC tour during August Recess. 

How to book a Congressional CAC tour

1. Find your representative, or navigate to their website to find contact information.
2. From the Representative's website, find the number for their local office (NOT the Washington, D.C. office), and call. 
3. Make sure you know their history with your CAC and your mission before you get on the phone. If they've co-sponsored the bill, visited in the past, voted yes on the VOCA Fix Act, or done anything for us, make sure you mention it and thank them and their staff. Even if not, you can thank them for everything they've done for CACs in the past.
4. Explain who you are, where your agency is, what you do, and any previous relationship with the member of Congress whose office you're calling. Thank them for their past support. 
5. Tell them you'd like to invite the member and anyone else they would like to bring to your Children's Advocacy Center for a brief tour while they are home in the district during August, and ask if you may get this tour on their boss's calendar.
6. They will probably have to check and get back with you, so make sure you get a date after which you can reach out to check on the status of the tour. Don't be afraid to follow up and be persistent; our representatives need to see what's at stake if VOCA funds are allowed to further dwindle. 
7. Finally, let us know if you need any additional information for the visit or any follow up info for the Member/staff. You can email Denise Edwards at dedwards@nca-online.org for any materials you might need.

Find Your Rep's District Office

Questions? 

Contact National Children’s Alliance (NCA) Director of Government Affairs Denise Edwards at dedwards@nca-online.org. 

VOCA Resources

A Solid Place to Grow: An NCA brief on the impacts of VOCA cuts on CAC services to children

For more than four decades and in nearly 1,000 communities nationwide, Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) have provided evidence-based, child-centered care for children victimized by abuse and their families. Yet when funding cuts and increased care costs collide with a burgeoning youth mental health crisis, this critical community resource is no longer guaranteed. 

This brief, intended to educate lawmakers and other decisionmakers on the issue, can also help arm CAC advocates and supporters with the facts as they push for stable CVF funding and an end to CACs cutting services or even closing their doors. 

Voices for VOCA in the press

NCA and many of our members across the country are hard at work placing op-eds and letters to the editor in major media outlets across the country, and reaching out to local and state outlets for coverage. This helps us reach the thought leaders who influence members of Congress, and raises the profile of our issue to make it more urgent for Congress to act on.  Here's just a little of the coverage we've seen: 

• "As more crime victims seek help, funding dwindles, advocates say," quotes Deana Joy, CACs of North Carolina; North Carolina Health News, June 11
• "Stabilizing crime victims’ funding is a win America’s kids desperately need," by Teresa Huizar, NCA; The Hill, May 3
• "Plummeting balance in federal crime victims fund sparks alarm among states, advocates," quotes Teresa Huizar; New Hampshire Bulletin, May 3
• "VOICES: What the loss of the Crime Victims Fund means for child crime victims in Ohio," by Mat Heck and Deborah Feldman; Dayton Daily News, May 2

We encourage you to seek your own coverage in coordination with NCA and your Chapter and can help with templates, editing, and advice. Please reach out to Denise (dedwards@nca-online.org) or Blake (bwarenik@nca-online.org) to get started on your own op-ed...after you've booked your CAC tour, of course.