Groups Helping Victims Of Crime Get Major Funding Boost

The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute is giving out five times more funding than it did last year.

The federal government gave the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute $40 million this year, up from $8 million in 2014.

The ICJI plans to hand that out in the form of grants to local organizations around the state.

“A grant like this, let alone an increase of such monumental proportion, allows us to even better our relation with our service providers,” ICJI Adam Baker says.

The money will go to a variety of services, such as those for domestic violence victims, children who have been removed from abusive homes or elderly people who have fallen victim to fraud.

Monroe County Court Appointed Special Advocates, which advocates for children in the justice system, has seen a decrease in other funding sources, including state allocations.

The group has also seen an increase in demand. A jump in drug use has led to more children being removed from their homes and into the court system.

“So it was actually quite refreshing to see more dollars are now being put toward child victims of abuse,” Bishay says.

Because of the additional funding, Monroe County CASA plans to apply for money to hire another part time employee who would assist the volunteers that make up much of CASA’s manpower.

The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute will select the grant recipients later this year.