The Florida attorney general's office slashed the amount of federal grant funds that were previously approved for the office of Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell to help victims of domestic violence, according to documents provided by the Ninth Judicial Circuit.
The funding comes from the federal Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA. Judicial circuits across Florida receive VOCA money to help support victims of different types of violent crime, based on how many victims are anticipated in each crime category.
The VOCA contract for the current fiscal year was issued to Worrell's office in October. But in December, "without notice, explanation or discussion," the attorney general's office unilaterally rewrote the contract, according to Worrell.
The original contract issued to Worrell's office included about $478,461 to serve victims of domestic and/or family violence, the most common type of violent crime in Orange and Osceola counties. Last year alone, the Ninth Circuit handled more than 11,000 domestic violence cases, Worrell said.
Now, following the AG's revisions, the contract includes about $83,500 for victims of domestic and/or family violence: about 82% less than the amount originally allocated to that category. View a comparison of the original and revised contracts below:
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Meanwhile, the AG's revised VOCA contract directs $121,250 — about a quarter of the total contract amount — to victims of child physical abuse or neglect. The original contract issued to Worrell's office included no money in that category.
"We did not request any funding for that particular area: not because we don't serve any (of those victims), but because the number that we serve is so low that we prefer to put the grant use towards domestic violence victims, which is our highest area of violent crime," Worrell said.
Last year, victim advocates with the state attorney's office handled 46 child abuse/neglect cases, Worrell said. The AG's revised contract calls for Worrell's office to serve 1,000 victims of such cases.
"In fact, no circuit in Florida experiences anywhere near 1,000 child abuse or neglect cases annually," Worrell wrote in a Feb. 18 memo to the AG's office.
At a press conference Wednesday, Worrell argued the AG's revisions are a politically-driven attempt to hold her office to "arbitrary and unachievable requirements."
"Let me be clear: these numbers are detached from real data, unsupported by case volume and impossible to meet," Worrell said. "And they're being applied only to the Ninth Circuit. Every other judicial circuit in Florida received VOCA funding based on actual crime data."
In Worrell's original contract, funding for victims of domestic and family violence represented nearly 94% of all VOCA funds allocated to her office. The same percentage of VOCA funds was approved this year for domestic and family violence victims in the Eleventh Circuit, which serves Miami-Dade County.
Now, in the AG's revised contract for the Ninth Circuit, funding for victims of domestic and family violence accounts for about 17% of all VOCA funds allocated to Worrell's office.
Debra Rosado is CEO of All Family Resource Center, an Osceola County-based agency listed by the AG's office as a designated victim services provider for the Ninth and Tenth Judicial Circuits. All Family Resource Center helps "people in crisis or those that are unable to help themselves," according to the agency's website.
Years ago, Rosado also worked as a victim witness liaison in the state attorney's office. While working there, she saw many upsetting things, including cases of domestic violence victims who died at the hands of their partners. "It's very sad, and it's very real. Sometimes, I don't know if (people) see how real this is."
Rosado said the reduced VOCA funds for domestic violence victims in the Ninth Circuit is "a shame."
"The victim advocate also stands up for their rights … in depositions and things like that," Rosado said. "Because many times, victims don't even know their rights."
Rhonda Wilson is Senior Victim Advocate at the Victim Service Center of Central Florida, the designated rape crisis center for Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties.
Wilson said domestic and sexual violence can often coincide. She described the victim advocate community as "extremely important."
"We provide emotional support to the survivor of the crime …. through the criminal justice process; before, during and after," Wilson said.
Wilson encouraged survivors of all different kinds of crimes to call the center's 24/7 hotline, 407-500-HEAL (4325), if they are in need of help.
A spokeswoman for the attorney general's office didn't respond to questions about why changes were made to Worrell's contract, including whether or not the changes were politically motivated. Instead, Deputy Press Secretary Isabel Kilman emailed a written statement:
"The VOCA grant funds are available whenever State Attorney Worrell is ready to sign the contract. In fact, the Office of the Attorney General is offering more than double the amount that her office requested last year.
We hope she does the right thing and accepts the nearly half-million dollars our office is willing to provide on behalf of crime victims."
The AG's revised contract calls for Worrell's office to receive a total $485,246 in VOCA funds — more than double the $225,791 it received last year.
The AG is putting the state attorney's office in an "impossible position," Worrell said. "We were given an ultimatum: to sign the written contract or lose funding."
Refusing to sign would mean losing all the VOCA funds, putting at least seven victim advocates at risk of losing their jobs, and thousands of domestic violence victims at risk of losing access to critical services, Worrell said.
"However, if we sign, we would be knowingly entering an agreement and agreeing to deliverables that cannot be met, exposing our office to penalties and jeopardizing future federal funding," Worrell said. "Either option causes harm to victims."
Worrell said her office employs 28 victim advocates, all focused on helping victims of different types of crime. The VOCA money historically funds between 7-10.
So far, Worrell has not signed the revised VOCA contract.
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