Governor Kelly Awards Nearly $18.5M for Sexual and Domestic Violence Programs, Children’s Advocacy Centers, and CASA Programs

Governor Laura Kelly today announced that $18,489,169 in state grants have been awarded to provide services for adult and child crime survivors. Governor Kelly and the bipartisan Legislature increased the state grant funds to sustain Kansas programs that experienced a 40 percent decrease in funding from the federal Victims of Crime Act Victim Assistance Grant Program.

The funding comes from state general funds and will go toward counseling, shelters, the statewide language-accessible crisis line, safety planning, advocacy for sexual and domestic violence survivors, and training for community-based direct service providers. 

Domestic violence and sexual assault programs provide shelter, advocacy, and safety planning for people who experience domestic violence or sexual assault. These programs also provide services and vital safety-related information to those who call the statewide language-accessible crisis line (888-END-ABUSE: 888-363-2287).

Children’s Advocacy Centers are child-focused programs that operate within Kansas communities to coordinate a multidisciplinary response to child abuse cases. Funds are used to hire and train staff to conduct child-sensitive forensic interviews of sexual and physical abuse victims, and to provide advocacy services for victims and non-offending caregivers.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Programs provide training and support to court-appointed citizen volunteers. The volunteers work with the courts and legal and child welfare professionals to obtain permanent and safe placements for children who have been abused and neglected.

Included in the Grant was the Liberal Area Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence Services in the amount of $418,187