Page Reader AI | DOJ Cancels Grants for Victim Services, Then Restores Some

DOJ Cancels Grants for Victim Services, Then Restores Some | The Epoch Times

The Department of Justice initially canceled, then partially restored, several grants for victim services, citing a shift in agency priorities.

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The Office of Justice Programs canceled the grants because they ‘no longer effectuate ... agency priorities.’

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently canceled grants for victim services and other efforts, according to recent termination notices.

The DOJ said on April 24 it was restoring seven of the grants it had cut for victim services.

Grants were being terminated because they “no longer effectuate the program goals or agency priorities,” according to a notice viewed by The Epoch Times.

“The Department has changed its priorities with respect to discretionary grant funding to focus on, among other things, more directly supporting certain law enforcement operations, combatting violent crime, protecting American children, and supporting American victims of trafficking and sexual assault, and better coordinating law enforcement efforts at all levels of government. These awards demonstrate that they no longer effectuate Department priorities,” the notice, from the DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs, stated.

The terminations included a grant to The National Center for Victims of Crime that funds crime victim hotlines and a grant to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, a DOJ official said on Thursday.

Those were two of the seven grants that were being restored.

The official said the department is “confident that these cuts are consistent with the administration’s priorities while at the same time protecting services that tangibly impact victims.”

The Justice Department said earlier in the week it was discerning in how it selected which grants to cut.

“Grants for programs that do not align with the administration’s priorities were rescinded but this Department of Justice will continue to ensure that services for victims are not impacted and any recipient will have the ability to appeal and restore any grant if direct impact on victims can be thoroughly established,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

After its funding was cut, the National Center for Victims of Crime said on the social media platform X that its hotline assisted more than 16,000 people in 2024 and that without the service, “survivors lose a trusted place to learn.”

The organization said on Friday that the funding was restored.

“After a week of uncertainty, we’re grateful to keep serving survivors who count on us,” the center said. “This isn’t just a win, it’s a reminder: Victim services must be protected, always.”

The National Network to End Domestic Violence did not return a request for comment.

The DOJ did not respond to a request for more information.

Other grants the DOJ ended, according to documents and the organizations that were informed of the cuts, include the following:

Five that had been awarded to the Vera Institute of Justice for projects, including work with corrections departments to “create and sustain safe, humane, and effective environments for people who work, visit, and are incarcerated in prisons” and work with prosecutors and community groups on diversion programs that offer alternatives to prison for some criminals.
Five grants to Activating Change, a nonprofit that supports domestic violence victims with disabilities.
Two grants to the Latino Coalition for Community Leadership, which works on helping people who are released from prison, as well as crime prevention and health programs.
Funding to The Central Iowa Trauma Recovery Center.

The recovery center’s grant was being restored, the DOJ official said.

The official said Activating Change’s cuts would remain in place because it is affiliated with the Vera Institute of Justice, which has publicly opposed a number of Trump administration actions, including the detainment and proposed deportation of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist accused of anti-Semitic activities on campus.

In response to its loss of funding, The Vera Institute of Justice said on X April 8 that “this administration is turning its back on safety, justice, and the most marginalized.”

Reuters contributed to this report.