Congress: Protect services that help child crime victims recover
Pass the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act, S. 1892
The Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act (CFVSA) 2.0, is a crucial step toward VOCA funding stability for years to come. Our champions in the House, Reps. Ann Wagner (MO), Nathaniel Moran (TX), Debbie Dingell (MI), Stephanie Bice (OK), and Jim Costa (CA) introduced the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act, H.R. 909, and thanks to your calls, emails, and tireless advocacy, H.R. 909 PASSED the House on a voice vote on January 12, 2026!
This is a HUGE win for kids and is a testament to the power of our CAC movement and our champions in Congress—especially Rep. Ann Wagner, who led this effort with incredible dedication. We also want to thank Reps. Nathaniel Moran, Debbie Dingell, Jim Costa, and Stephanie Bice, for their leadership on this bill and their prioritization of children in this critical time. If your representative was one of the 328 co-sponsors, please reach out and thank them for their support!
While the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act (CVFSA) recently cleared a major hurdle with its passage in the House, the future of this critical legislation, and the essential funding it provides for Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) and the wider victims’ services field now rests with the Senate and their companion bill, S. 1892. And, we’re urging you to call your Senators and tell them to pass CVFSA now. In addition, ask your senators to reach out to Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dick Durbin, the lead sponsors of CVFSA in the Senate, and let them know that they want this bill passed today. Encouraging them to weigh in publicly with their support will help reinforce the urgency of getting CVFSA passed.
Your advocacy can help ensure the Senate keeps the momentum going and moves this bill across the finish line.
Questions?
Contact National Children’s Alliance (NCA) Director of Government Affairs Denise Edwards at .
How you can help
Ask your Senators to support S. 1892
Please check the current list of Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act co-sponsors here.
If your Senator is on it, please send them an email or call thanking them for their support. It’s critical to build a relationship for the long haul, and your recognition of their support means everything.
If you don’t see their name, please keep calling and asking them to support S. 1892 in the Senate when it comes up for a vote.
Members of Congress pay attention to how many constituents care enough to contact them about an issue, so taking a few minutes to call or email them would be a huge help.
The five minutes you spend making this call and asking your colleagues, family and supporters to do the same can pay off in services to kids in months to come. And, we are asking you to post or repost; share, and tweet/retweet our social media posts on this effort.
Please ask your colleagues, MDT partners, fellow advocates and community members! We need every call!
The script
Call and say this: (or leave a voicemail, they listen!)
“My name is [your name and location]. (I am a constituent of [name of official])/(my agency is located in [name of official]‘s district). Services to victims of child abuse–and other victims of crime–are facing devastating cuts due to the continued record low deposits into the Crime Victims Fund. Our Children’s Advocacy Center, [name of agency], is facing those cuts. But, the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act bill, H.R. 909 (or S. 1892 if you are calling your senators), co-sponsored by Representatives Wagner, Moran, Dingell, Bice, Costa, and Schmidt, (or Sens. Murkowski, Durbin, Tuberville, Murray, Moran, and Shaheen if you are calling your Senators) would give us a lifeline and help soften the impact while Congress works to find a permanent solution. We are asking [name of official] to sign onto Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act to become a co-sponsor. And, we appreciate all of [Name of official]‘s support for child abuse victims.”
“My name is [your name and location]. (I am a constituent of [name of official])/(my agency is located in [name of official]‘s district). Services to victims of child abuse–and other victims of crime–are facing devastating cuts due to the continued record low deposits into the Crime Victims Fund. Our Children’s Advocacy Center, [name of agency], is facing those cuts.
“But, the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act bill, H.R. 909 (or S. 1892 if you are calling your senators), co-sponsored by Representatives Wagner, Moran, Dingell, Bice, Costa, and Schmidt (or Sens. Murkowski, Durbin, Tuberville, Murray, Moran, and Shaheen if you are calling your Senators), is coming up for a House vote soon. Its passage would give us a lifeline and help soften the impact while Congress works to find a permanent solution. We are asking [name of official] to support the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act when it comes up for a vote. And, we appreciate all of [Name of official]‘s support for child abuse victims.”
What will the new bill do?
If you have active relationships with your Representative or if their staff has more questions about the standalone CVF Stabilization Act before committing to sign on, share this basic information with them as well as the fact sheets below. This stand-alone bill amends the VOCA statute to add a new item under deposit collections into the CVF to now include non-taxpayer money collected from the False Claims Act.
This bill does 3 simple things:
- The bipartisan Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act adds the False Claims Act to the sources of revenue deposited into the Crime Victims Fund.
- This bill makes clear that whistleblowers AND the federal government are paid first. This is money that is not designated and otherwise would have gone to the Treasury.
- This bill sunsets in 2029. (House Rules require stand-alone bills to have sunsets.)
New brief: the impacts of VOCA cuts on CAC services to children
A Solid Place to Grow: An NCA brief on the impacts of VOCA cuts on CAC services to children
For more than four decades and in nearly 1,000 communities nationwide, Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) have provided evidence-based, child-centered care for children victimized by abuse and their families. Yet when funding cuts and increased care costs collide with a burgeoning youth mental health crisis, this critical community resource is no longer guaranteed.
This brief, intended to educate lawmakers and other decisionmakers on the issue, can also help arm CAC advocates and supporters with the facts as they push for stable CVF funding and an end to CACs cutting services or even closing their doors.
Voices for VOCA in the press
- Congresswoman Ann Wagner: "Congress must not leave child victims behind"
- Washington Post: "After funding cuts, nonprofits for domestic-violence survivors scale back"
- Benita Williams and Chris Kirchner: "Loss of VOCA Funding Harms Kids in Pennsylvania"
- Erin Merryn and Teresa Huizar talk VOCA on Fox Edge
- Teresa Huizar: "Stabilizing crime victims’ funding is a win America’s kids desperately need"
- Prosecuting Attorney Mat Heck: "What the loss of the Crime Victims Fund means for child crime victims in Ohio"
- N.C. Health News: "As more crime victims seek help, funding dwindles, advocates say"
- Trevor Umphress: "Arizona opinion--Budget cuts endanger child crime victims"