The Alaska Legislature recently increased state funding for domestic violence and sexual assault efforts, but a leading advocate says the effort doesn’t go far enough to meet the need.
One of the main federal funding sources for Alaska’ domestic violence and sexual assault prevention efforts and programs has dropped over the years, creating a hole in service providers’ budgets as state funding has remained the same for seven years.
Lawmakers plugged part of the that hole with a $3.7 million budget boost this year for the Alaska Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, the office that distributes state grants to local agencies. Previously, the council filled the gap with one-time funding and COVID relief dollars, said MaryBeth Gagnon, the council’s director.
The legislative appropriation is intended to stabilize the nonprofits that run victim’s services and prevention programs throughout the state. It is the first increase in state funding since 2017, but some program managers say it doesn’t go far enough to keep one of the state’s most vulnerable populations safe.
Brenda Stanfill, director of the state’s network of service providers, the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, told the council that the nonprofits that administer the response across Alaska need a $20 million investment to make inroads on addressing and preventing domestic and sexual violence.
“It is the only part of the criminal justice system not fully funded by the state of Alaska or a local community government. They are still expected to host galas and do bake sales,” she said.
“This is concerning, with the high rates of domestic and sexual violence in our state, and distracts from the core mission of these agencies, which is to provide safety and support for victims of crime.”
Stanfill said the state needs to invest in its core programs and prevention efforts to reduce the growing need for services. She said funding has not kept pace with inflation and wage increases — and the result is affecting what shelters can provide.
“They are having to reduce services. Some have had to limit how many people they can help come into shelter at a time. Some have had to cut their outreach services,” she said.
The rate of domestic violence in Alaska fell between 2010 and 2015, and Stanfill credits former Gov. Sean Parnell’s Choose Respect campaign and his investment in domestic violence prevention programs for the drop.
But since then, as investment has waned, the rate of domestic violence and sexual assault has crept back up, according to the Alaska Victimization Survey, a comprehensive statewide survey conducted by the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center, which measures domestic and sexual violence.
Stanfill said that from the law enforcement perspective, the cost of addressing domestic violence is very high. And she said that survivor services are a large, unsung part of the state’s response to violence and crime that should be considered alongside village public safety officers and state troopers.
“We have looked at supporting troopers and police departments; we looked at the support for VPSOs and making sure their wages were increased. But oftentimes we forget that survivor services is a core part of our first response,” she said. “We really want to elevate attention and talk about this issue, because oftentimes the victim of the crime gets forgotten in the process of it all.”
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