Crime Victim Fund Dwindles; AG Fights For Money

COLUMBUS, Ohio—A dramatic drop in funding could leave victims of crime without the support they need.

Ohio’s Victims of Violent Crime Compensation Program fund has decreased by 72 percent in the last five years, dropping from $42 million to $12 million dollars.

From legal fees to medical bills, the fund helps about 3,000 victims in Ohio every year.

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray is fighting to replenish the fund.

He sent a letter to Congress urging legislators to support an act that would increase federal support.

“It’d be really devastating for another family not to benefit from what we have,” said the mother of a victim. She wanted to stay anonymous. She drew from the fund after she said her son was shaken as a baby by a daycare provider.

“I basically had to stop working and take care of him because his needs were outrageous. Without the money, there’s no way I could have nurtured him back to where he’s at,” she said.

ACTION OHIO Coalition For Battered Women also relies on the AG’s fund for support.

Executive Director Phyllis Carlson-Riehm explained the fund is one source of predictability.

“You can get a grant and lose a grant, and it’s unpredictable, and just about everything we seek in terms of funding is competitive,” she said.

Fifty-four other Attorneys General backed Cordray’s initiative to push for the Crime Victims Fund Preservation Act of 2009. It would increase grants to states over the next five years.

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