State funding needed for DV services

Another viewpoint is a column The NewsHerald makes available so all sides of an issue may be aired. Kathy Strancar is executive director of Forbes House.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for services at Forbes House domestic violence shelter has increased significantly. Hotline calls increased by 40% last year as compared to the previous year, and request for services and support, such as shelter, housing, legal services and safety planning, increased by 60%. Victims in Lake County need more support than ever.

But in these increasingly dangerous times, we at Forbes House have been forced to focus on the survival of our program, often needing to bifurcate the role of our frontline staff, who have of necessity taken on more administrative tasks. This leaves far less time for direct advocacy, intervention and prevention work for victims.

This change is due to a 67% cut to my most important funding source – the Victims of Crime Act grant (VOCA). Grants to domestic violence programs in Ohio were cut by $7.7 million in October.

The state Attorney General’s Office has warned another VOCA cut of as much as 34% is expected this year. If I am forced in the near future to make further staff or program cuts, our ability to serve our clients will significantly decrease.

It was a hopeful sign when in 2019 Ohio became one of 33 states that provide support for their programs. The $1 million budget annual allocation provided grants of $17,800 to 47 residential programs that year and $12,000 grants to 69 programs in 2020.

Forbes House greatly appreciated the funding, which helped offset the close to $287,000 VOCA cut. But it is just not enough support for a program that last year received more than 2,000 calls to our hotline, and helped more than 300 victims go to court, find housing, get counseling and take other steps to rebuild their lives.

Our programs need a more generous, stable funding source they can count on every year. Next year, we need a $5 million annual line item, which would bring Ohio’s support for DV programs closer in line with other states. Among the 33 states that provide state domestic violence service support, Ohio’s support is the lowest on a per capita basis. Among our surrounding states, Ohio spends 9 cents per capita, compared to $1 in Michigan, $1.40 in West Virginia, $1.49 in Pennsylvania and $1.50 in Kentucky.

Meanwhile, the need for emergency shelter and support services for Ohio families struggling with domestic violence is greater now than ever before. In the past five years, 23 children and seven law enforcement officials were killed by domestic violence abusers. Domestic violence fatalities in Ohio were up by 35% from July 2019 through June 2020, according to ODVN’s annual fatality count, and preliminary data shows that domestic violence homicides continue to rise around the country.

Like Forbes House, Ohio’s domestic violence programs are struggling to respond to a spike in the number of families seeking help. Half of the state’s programs reported increases in the number of survivors seeking shelter, calls to the hotline or other requests for services in 2020 compared to 2019, according to a survey the Ohio Domestic Violence Network conducted in January. More than half (57%) the programs noted an increase in the severity of violence and injuries reported, including an alarming increase in strangulation.

Ohio’s elected and executive branch officials must be prepared to fully support the domestic violence programs on the front lines by supporting an increase in the domestic violence survivor services line item from $2 million to $10 million. Victims depend on us when they are in crisis. Ohio’s domestic violence programs and communities are relying on legislative support to keep families safe.

Kathy Strancar