Krista Colón, Executive Director of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, said that Governor Gavin Newsom’s May budget revision excludes funding for essential victim services, thereby jeopardizing survivors’ safety.
“We are very concerned to see that the Governor’s May Budget Revision does not include essential victims’ services funding,” said Colón. “These are life‑saving services and without them, our communities will be less safe, less equal, less caring, and many survivors of crime will be left behind and left to fend for themselves. We cannot continue to jeopardize crucial services that Californians rely on during the most traumatic and dangerous experiences of their lives. We will continue our advocacy to see that the state government does not seek to balance its budget on survivors’ backs.”
Governor Gavin Newsom’s May 2025 Budget Revision entirely omitted funding for victims’ services despite the state’s awareness of a critical federal funding shortfall. This omission was met with outrage from advocacy groups who claimed that the state had ample resources to address the crisis but chose not to act. According to the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, this decision amounted to abandoning tens of thousands of survivors who depend on state-funded forensic exams, trauma counseling, legal support, and safe shelter. Advocates argued that the Governor’s office knowingly failed to prioritize public safety for vulnerable populations, placing the burden of the state’s budget constraints on those least equipped to bear it.
In response to the budget omission, more than 200 organizations—ranging from domestic violence shelters to law enforcement—joined a statewide coalition demanding that California allocate $260 million in one-time emergency funding to keep critical victim services running. The Davis Vanguard reports that despite bipartisan legislative support and testimonies from survivors during hearings, the Newsom administration did not include this request in the May Revision, effectively forcing the legislature to scramble for solutions without executive leadership. The coalition emphasized that without this funding, essential services such as emergency shelter, 24/7 crisis hotlines, rape kits, and legal aid for restraining orders would disappear in many counties.
During a May 15, 2025 legislative budget hearing, lawmakers and public safety advocates criticized the state for proposing a $50 million reduction in funding to programs that directly assist crime survivors. According to reporting from Citizen Portal, legislators argued that this budget plan effectively asked survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking to subsidize the state’s fiscal solvency with their own suffering.
California’s decision not to backfill the $200 million in federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) cuts has already begun impacting thousands. According to a June 2025 report by ABC30, 382 community-based organizations across the state have reported forced service reductions, with some ceasing operations entirely. These include rape crisis centers, legal aid clinics, and culturally specific survivor services now facing imminent closure. Fresno County’s only forensic exam provider for sexual assault victims announced they would suspend services due to funding gaps—leaving survivors without local options for evidence collection. Advocates say that the state’s failure is not merely bureaucratic oversight but a public safety failure that will compound trauma and reduce prosecution of violent crimes.
Colón was appointed Executive Director of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence on March 31, 2025. She has worked in the domestic violence field for over 15 years.
