Crime Victims In Colorado Get An Early Christmas Present
By Shaun Boyd
DENVER (CBS4) - A new budget deal restores $1.5 billion in funding for victims services organizations.
The federal Crime Victims Fund is not tax dollars. It comes from fees that criminals pay and that, by law, victims are supposed to receive. As CBS4 reported last month, the fund fell victim itself to a budget deal between Congress and President Obama, who planned to raid it to pay for other spending.
That led to an outcry from victims services organizations across the country, and a change of heart in Washington.
"The citizens of our country and the citizens of Colorado made a difference with our elected officials," said Steve Siegel, who sits on the board of the Colorado Organization for Victims Assistance.
In Colorado, it means instead of receiving about $7 million to divide among hundreds of victims services organizations, the state will receive more than $37 million.
"And that will make a world of difference in Colorado to those who serve crime victims and those who are our crime victims tomorrow. Services can be brought on line for folks who've been underserved and unserved for years," Siegel said. "And so the work we do with disabled crime victims, for the gay and lesbian community, for people of color, for domestic violence victims who thought system couldn't work for them, for sex assault victims, for victims of drunk driving ... all those people will have greater access to a road to healing, a road to a better tomorrow."
Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Colorado is among the organizations hoping to receive some of the federal dollars.
"Right now we have 130 cases that we're working. We have one-and-a-half victims' advocates to support those cases. So there's a real lack of staff and resources to provide support to victims," said Fran Lanzer, executive director of MADD Colorado.
Resources have been so limited this will be the first year MADD will be eligible for funds.
"People don't realize, sadly until crime happens to them, that there's a real lack of resources and lack of support for victims," Lanzer said. "When somebody is injured or they have a family killed they expect somebody is going to do something to make it right, and those funds were designated from fees and fines by someone who committed a crime, designated to go to victims of crimes; so we're glad to see they did the right thing."
Siegel says the restored funding restores his faith in representative government.
"Today is a grand day for my sense of pride in what we can do as citizens and what our Congress people collectively -- Democrats and Republicans -- did on behalf of crime victims in our country," he said.
Congress will vote on the new budget deal on Friday. While it's not a done deal, Siegel says he's confident the money for victims services is now safe.
Shaun Boyd is CBS4's political specialist. She's a veteran reporter with more than 25 years of experience. Follow her on Twitter @cbs4shaun.
