Advocates worry about possible cut to crime victim funding

Advocates for crime victims in Maryland are urging Congress not to cut money from a fund that helps them.

The bipartisan budget agreement signed by President Barack Obama this month to fund the federal government beyond the next presidential election calls for removing $1.5 billion from the Justice Department's Crime Victims Fund. Dozens of nonprofits, prosecutors' offices and other agencies in Maryland rely on grants from the fund to support services such as counseling, temporary housing, and legal services for victims.

While lawmakers included the reduction to balance the federal government's books, it's not yet clear whether the funding will actually be cut. That will be decided as part of the appropriations process. Congress has until mid-December to work out those details.

"We're obviously very concerned and closely monitoring that process," said Christopher B. Shank, executive director of the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention, which administers the federal funding in Maryland.

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