MANSFIELD — Richland County Prosecutor Gary Bishop on Thursday praised a bipartisan Senate vote to strengthen the Victims of Crime Act by “fixing” how the Crime Victims Fund is funded.
“You cannot overemphasize the importance of this legislation and the funding that will come from it,” Bishop said.
VOCA established the CVF, which provides grant funding for state victim compensation and assistance programs. Grants are awarded to states, local governments, individuals, and other entities by the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime.
In recent years, the federal money for the program filtered through the state and down to Richland County had dropped to $55,000 per year, down from $134,000 annually.
The CVF does not receive appropriated funding; instead, it receives funding through deposits from criminal fines. And as a result, deposits fluctuate annually based on cases the DOJ prosecutes.
Deposits into the CVF are historically low, and the decrease is due in large part to greater use of deferred prosecutions and non-prosecution agreements.
Bishop said it takes $165,000 annually to operate his office’s three-person victim services division, an effort required by state law.
“It’s bare bones,” he said. “It is nothing more and nothing less than what we absolutely need. We have one director and two advocates. There is no administrative support. They do their own filing, own letters and their own scheduling. They are in court constantly.
“These people work 50 to 60 hours a week, constantly,” Bishop said.
Among other duties, the victim services division notifies victims with updates regarding the criminal case; accompanies victims to court; explains court procedures; provides emergency transportation to court; connects victims with the Ohio victim compensation program; and provides referral information for health, safety, and/or counseling issues.
A year ago, Bishop had to ask county commissioners for an additional $42,000 to help fund the program. When he met with commissioners on Tuesday to seek funds to hire a new experienced assistant prosecutor, Bishop pointed out the financial shortfall was continuing in the program.
Commissioners approved another $85,000 in the prosecutor’s budget in 2022, some of which Bishop plans to use in the victim services division.
The Senate’s action this week will redirect monetary penalties from federal deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements into the CVF to increase funding for state victim compensation and assistance programs.
The U.S. House approved the issue in March and it was signed by President Biden on Thursday.
“Final passage of this legislation to fix VOCA is a huge win for Ohio communities. We have an obligation to help survivors and our communities recover from violent crimes, abuse, and other criminal activity,” U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown said.
“But in order to do that, we needed to make sure the Crime Victims Fund is on solid ground. We’ve done that, and now more funds will flow to this critical program, bringing more resources for survivors and the organizations that serve them,” said Brown, a Mansfield native.
Due to the rapidly diminishing balance in the CVF, victim services have been slashed in Ohio and across the country, and some programs and services may see close to a 100 percent cut within two years if Congress did not act, Brown said.
One of the biggest changes is to direct criminal settlements from Federal non-prosecution and deferred prosecution agreements, currently deposited into the U.S. General Treasury, into the CVF (known as the “deposits fix).”
This could make an additional $4 to $7 billion of non-taxpayer money available to the CVF over the next few years.
“It really is appropriate to call it a ‘fix,'” Bishop said. “When federal prosecutors started doing non-prosecutions and offering diversion, they stopped imposing fines.
“This will force them to pay a monetary penalty (even when not fully prosecuted),” Bishop said.
The new funds will not flow quickly, the prosecutor said.
“It will take awhile,” he said. “It’s a process. The (DOJ) will need to start collecting the money and building the fund back up. It will be federal committees who will disperse to state committees who will disperse to (local) recipients.
“That’s all going to take awhile. It’s a long process, so we need to continue to bridge that gap until funding is restored,” Bishop said. “I am very happy they have made this change.”
