Statewide Iowa — Advocates for victims of domestic violence and other crimes are urging lawmakers to dedicate more money to assist victims.
In 2021, 20 fatalities in Iowa were attributed to domestic violence, the highest level in a decade. Marti Anderson of Des Moines was director of Iowa’s Crime Victim Assistance program for 22 years before being elected to the Iowa House in 2012.
Anderson says the work is not for volunteers, as it requires special training and that costs money, but Anderson says state funding for the Crime Victim Services division has been stuck at five million dollars a year since 2016.
Anderson, a Democrat who is not seeking reelection this year, says the state spends 99 percent more on the offenders than it does on victims.
Republican lawmakers writing the state budget say they’re reluctant use state money to replace the reduction in federal grant money that has supported the state’s Crime Victim Services program in the past. They say the federal funding glitch will be fixed in a year or two.
