An unexpected funding boost for Native victims of violent crime was tucked away in the massive “omnibus” spending bill signed by President Trump on March 23. The bill includes first-time tribal funding set aside within the Victim of Crime Act (VOCA)’s Crime Victims Fund. The 3 percent set aside will amount to around $133 million, according to an analysis by staff at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). “We were literally crying in gratitude when we heard the news,” said Caroline LaPorte, senior Native affairs policy adviser with the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC). Tribal victims services providers and community members have not previously been allowed access to the VOCA funding. Native providers compete, instead, for discretionary grants from the Department of Justice under the Children’s Justice Act and the Office for Victims of Crime. As policy analysts at NCAI explained, the DOJ grant process forces tribes to compete against each other; tribes with greater human resources and ability to employ experienced grant writers end up with larger shares of funding while tribes with the greatest needs often go without. Most DOJ funding is awarded on a two- to three-year cycle, thwarting sustainable support for successful programs.Read More on the Story:
Mary Annette Pember: The Congressional Omnibus Bill Was Surprisingly Good for Native Survivors of Violent Crime (Rewire.News April 6, 2018)
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