Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is asking legislators to prepare to use state tax dollars to support crime victim services that previously received federal grants.
During a presentation at the Iowa House Justice System Appropriations Subcommittee, Bird said that the $5.4 million funding cut from last year was “devastating.”
“All of our victim assistance agencies throughout the whole state of Iowa depend on that funding to keep their doors open.”
To fill the hole, Gov. Kim Reynolds transferred $5.4 million out of Iowa’s allotment of federal pandemic relief money. But Bird said that was “one-time money” that’s no longer available.
Bird is asking the state Legislature for an additional $1 million to provide counseling and other services to victims of human trafficking. She says people who’ve been subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking need more long-term support.
Bird told state lawmakers that she has discussed this dilemma with Iowa’s congressional delegation. She also said a bipartisan group of state attorneys general are lobbying Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice on the issue. Bird plans to meet with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to make the case that victim service organizations need these federal dollars.
The Crime Victim Assistance Division in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office is funded by the fines and fees Iowa courts order criminals to pay. The agency provides direct assistance to cover a crime victim’s out-of-pocket expenses.
“If a woman is a victim of domestic violence… we don’t want her to not leave her abuser because she’s worried about money. If, for example, a domestic abuse victim… calls 911 and her boyfriend destroys her cell phone and then her boyfriend throws a rock through the windshield of her car so that she can’t get to work as easily, those types of things we can provide reimbursement.”