Alaska adds millions to address domestic violence and sexual assault; advocates say more is needed

Freshly made beds are seen successful an unoccupied room astatine nan Fairbanks emergency shelter, Interior Alaska halfway for Non-Violent Living connected Oct. 14, 2023. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

The Alaska Legislature precocious accrued authorities backing for home unit and intersexual battle efforts, but a starring advocator says nan effort doesn’t spell acold capable to meet nan need.

One of nan main national backing sources for Alaska’ home unit and intersexual battle prevention efforts and programs has dropped over nan years, creating a spread successful work providers’ budgets arsenic authorities backing has remained nan aforesaid for 7 years.

Lawmakers plugged that spread pinch a $3.7 cardinal fund boost for nan state’s Council connected Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, nan assemblage that distributes authorities grants to section agencies, this year. Previously, CDVSA filled nan spread pinch one-time backing and COVID alleviation dollars, said MaryBeth Gagnon, nan council’s director.

The summation is intended to stabilize nan nonprofits that tally victim’s services and prevention programs passim nan state. It is nan first summation to CDVSA’s authorities backing since 2017, but immoderate programme managers opportunity it doesn’t spell acold capable to support 1 of nan state’s astir susceptible populations safe.

Brenda Stanfill, head of nan state’s web of work providers, nan Alaska Network connected Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, told nan assembly that nan nonprofits that administer nan state’s consequence request a $20 cardinal finance to make inroads connected addressing and preventing home and intersexual violence.

“It is nan only portion of nan criminal justness strategy not afloat funded by nan State of Alaska aliases a section organization government. They are still expected to big galas and do cook sales,” she said.

“This is concerning, pinch nan precocious rates of home and intersexual unit successful our state, and distracts from nan halfway ngo of these agencies, which is to supply information and support for victims of crime.”

Stanfill said nan authorities needs to put successful its halfway programs and prevention efforts to trim nan increasing request for services. She said backing has not kept gait pinch ostentation and costs increases — and nan consequence is affecting what shelters tin provide.

“They are having to trim services. Some person had to limit really galore group they tin thief travel into shelter astatine a time. Some person had to trim their outreach services,” she said.

Stanfill said she appreciates nan caller fund increase, which intends programs are little apt to person to trim services successful nan future, and points to data to show that increases to backing for curen and prevention are bully investments for nan state.

The complaint of home unit successful Alaska fell betwixt 2010 and 2015, and Stanfill credits erstwhile Gov. Sean Parnell’s Choose Respect run and his finance successful home unit prevention programs for nan drop.

But since then, arsenic finance has waned, nan complaint of home unit and intersexual battle has crept backmost up, according to nan the Alaska Victimization Survey, a broad statewide study conducted by nan University of Alaska Anchorage’s Justice Center, which measures home and intersexual violence.

$20 million

Twenty cardinal dollars is simply a batch of money. It would astir double nan magnitude of money nan Council connected Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault useful with.

CDVSA distributes money that comes from aggregate authorities departments, truthful to get nan backing summation Stanfill said nan authorities needs, respective commissioners would person to advocator for backing increases, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy would person to agree.

Stanfill said astir of her projected summation — astir $14 cardinal — is basal to support agencies operating astatine nan basal level by adjusting for ostentation and offsetting costs that will expire aliases beryllium mislaid adjacent year. Of that, $4 cardinal would beryllium to offset nan extremity of a national appropriation secured this twelvemonth by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. Roughly $3.5 cardinal would set for ostentation for existent programs and it would return different $1.25 cardinal to dress up for continued decreases successful national funds. Just nether $2 cardinal would bolster kid defense centers arsenic nan Department of Justice ceases backing them, and different $3.3 cardinal to set their costs for inflation.

More than $6 cardinal would spell towards prevention and rehabilitation. Stanfill hopes nan Department of Health will put $4.25 cardinal towards prevention efforts. “Batterer intervention” programs request $2 million, she said, and suggested it travel from nan Department of Corrections. Batterer interventions are programs aimed astatine school nonviolent alternatives to group who person utilized violence.

CDVSA is simply a portion of nan Department of Public Safety. Commissioner James Cockrell has been an outspoken protagonist of related issues, including expanding rule enforcement beingness successful agrarian areas of nan state, adding rule enforcement positions to reside nan state’s situation of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and taking action to prosecute and clasp capable staff to reside quality trafficking. Department spokesperson Austin McDaniel said DPS is moving pinch nan governor’s agency to travel up pinch a budget, but said nan backing determination yet comes from nan administration.

“Providing resources to nan groups and programs that attraction for victims of home unit and intersexual battle remains a apical privilege for Commissioner Cockrell and nan Department of Public Safety,” McDaniel wrote successful an emailed consequence to questions.

He did not opportunity if nan section plans to activity much money for CDVSA, but said nan nationalist will find retired really overmuch of nan DPS fund will spell to CDVSA erstwhile nan governor’s agency announces its projected fund successful December.

Stanfill said that from nan rule enforcement perspective, nan costs of addressing home unit is very high. And she said that subsister services are a large, unsung portion of nan state’s consequence to unit and crime that should beryllium considered alongside colony nationalist information officers and authorities troopers.

“We person looked astatine supporting troopers and constabulary departments; we looked astatine nan support for VPSOs and making judge their wages were increased. But oftentimes we hide that subsister services is simply a halfway portion of our first response,” she said. “We really want to elevate attraction and talk astir this issue, because oftentimes nan unfortunate of nan crime gets forgotten successful nan process of it all.”

Stanfill admits that a $20 cardinal boost is simply a batch much than ANDVSA has asked for successful nan past. And she said nan results of nan summation would return clip to measure, conscionable arsenic nan results of nan Choose Respect run are astir visible much than a decade later.

But she didn’t apologize for asking authorities commissioners to scope a large goal:

“I deliberation I astir apt caught each of them a small spot disconnected guard. But I do want america to deliberation big. I do want america to deliberation about, really do we extremity this successful Alaska?” she said.