Lt. Gov. Austin Davis touts proposed investment in compensation for crime victims in state budget

Lt. Gov. Austin Davis stopped in Pittsburgh Friday to rally support for financial assistance for Pennsylvania crime victims in the next state budget.

In his budget proposal last month, Gov. Josh Shapiro recommended $9 million for the Victims Compensation Assistance Program, also known as VCAP, which helps people affected by crimes with expenses like medical care, counseling, relocation, lost wages, crime scene cleanup, and funeral costs.

Davis and local victim service providers visited the Center for Victims on the South Side, one of the largest victim-service agencies in the state, to highlight the importance of supporting victims and survivors of crimes.

“No crime victim should have to worry about how they're going to afford their medical bills to recover,” Davis said. “No family should have to struggle with funeral expenses for a loved one who they lost to violence. And no sexual assault survivor should have to worry about covering the cost of counseling to overcome the trauma that they've endured.”

VCAP is a “lifeline” to victims of domestic violence, gun violence, and other violent crimes, he said.

“While no financial assistance can undo the trauma, the victim's compensation program … can play an essential role in helping survivors rebuild their lives and recover,” Davis said.

The majority of VCAP’s funding comes from fines paid by those convicted of crimes as well as a federal grant that reimburses up to 75% of the state’s expenses. (The fund is administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, which Davis chairs.)

But that’s not enough to cover the program’s $14 million a year in expenses, said Kathy Buckley, director of Pennsylvania’s Office of Victims' Services.

“The amount that we're getting out of that is not keeping pace with the amount that we're spending in expenditures,” she said.

That means smaller reimbursement from the federal government, and ultimately, less money for victims. Buckley said the $9 million proposed in the next budget is needed to keep VCAP solvent and stabilize the fund.

The PCCD has paid more than 67,000 VCAP claims totaling $67 million over the last five years, according to commission data. In the same period, in Allegheny County alone, the commission has paid over 3,000 compensation claims totaling over $5.5 million. An average of 12,000 claims are filed each year statewide.

The 2024-25 state budget included $5 million for VCAP, marking the first time those funds were used for the program.

Victim-service providers urged state lawmakers to prioritize additional support for victims of crime, describing the payments as a key node of support in the local social safety net.

“When we consider the impact of trauma, we often think of the emotional and psychological toll, but there is also a significant financial burden: Attending court proceedings can mean time away from work, paying for child care, transportation, and parking, all while carrying the weight of trauma,” said Sadie Restivo, executive director of Pittsburgh Action Against Rape.

Some also face substantial medical bills, Restivo noted.

“For some, these costs are insurmountable, threatening their ability to heal and seek justice,” she said. VCAP funds, she said, “can make the difference between survivors maintaining housing or facing eviction, between accessing trauma-focused therapy or enduring untreated PTSD.”

For people like Ebony Saunders, whose 18-year-old daughter was shot and killed six years ago, VCAP provided critical support when it was needed most.

“It's like you're there, but you're not there,” she said of the weeks and months after her daughter’s death. “It's like, “When am I going to wake up from this dream?”

Saunders, a single mother of four and a home health worker, said she had to take time off of work and worried about how she would pay for her daughter’s funeral. She was able to use VCAP to cover funeral, therapy and counseling costs, and recoup lost wages.

“The pain of losing a child — to have someone just there to help you, it's, like, lifesaving,” she said.

The proposal isn’t yet guaranteed to make it into the budget. It will be up to the state’s divided legislature to negotiate a deal before the June 30 deadline.