Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Funding Coalition – Budget Advocacy Letter Sign-On Request
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Once again, CSAC is a part of a broad coalition of over 250 organizations statewide in advocating for supplemental funding to support the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) in the 2026 Budget Act. The 2026-27 Governor’s Budget proposal released on January 9, 2026, had no funding included in the budget proposal specific to VOCA.
As you recall, CSAC, alongside a diverse coalition of community-based organizations, legal aid providers, county partners, and leaders in the Legislature, were successful in securing $103 million one-time state-backfill in the 2024 Budget Act and $100 million one-time state-backfill in the 2025 Budget Act to supplement the historic reductions in federal dollars allocated to California under VOCA.
VOCA grants provide for the delivery of crucial services to crime victims and receives funding via the Crime Victims Fund (CVF). The CVF is a non-taxpayer source of funding that is financed by monetary penalties associated with federal criminal convictions, as well as penalties from federally deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements. Deposits into the CVF fluctuate based on the number of criminal cases that are handled by the U.S. DOJ, with Congress determining on an annual basis how much to release from the CVF to states. Congressional funding for VOCA has declined substantially in recent years, prompting widespread advocacy efforts to combat these devastating cuts.
While CSAC will continue to advocate on the federal level both through pending legislation (including H.R. 909, or the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025) and the budget appropriations process, due to the unprecedented federal uncertainty, we are also urging individual counties and departments to sign-on to this coalition letter, supporting crime victims and preventing program cuts and closures in communities across our state.
If your county would like to be added to this coalition, please complete the sign-on form below. The letter is accessible via the link below, as well as included within the sign-on form. If your county has already joined the coalition, there is no further action needed at this time. Coalition signees are listed at the end of the letter for your reference.
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