funding briefing - Florida Council Against Sexual Violence

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During SFY 08/09, FCASV distributed $1,586,339 from the RCPTF by formula to 30 certified rape crisis centers in Florida. That figure dropped to $1,568,957 for SFY 09/10. FCASV put forward a legislative proposal during the 2010 session to enhance the Rape Crisis Program Trust Fund (RCPTF) by adding several additional crimes related to sexual violence to the mandatory fine. While the Senate bill passed, the House companion failed. FCASV plans to prioritize this legislation again during the 2011 session. 2. Non-Recurring General Revenue for Rape Crisis Centers Rape crisis programs received $250,000 in the Legal Affairs budget in 2009 and 2010, $400,000 in victim compensation trust fund dollars in 2008, and $400,000 in nonrecurring general revenue in 2007—a $700,000 cut from 2006. Rape Crisis Center Response to Sexual Assault: In 30 certified rape crisis centers, staff and volunteers provide Florida’s frontline response to the crimes of sexual assault and sexual abuse serving 8,201 new (not previously served) victims of sexual violence during SFY 2009/2010 and continuing to provide services to victims first seen in previous years. Core services include: Operating 24-hour hotlines (response to 10,333 calls in SFY 09/10); Providing advocacy and accompaniment through medical and legal processes (31,433 units provided in SFY 09/10); Providing medical/forensic examinations (2,500 provided in SFY09/10); Following-up with ongoing care through individual and group counseling (21,168 crisis intervention sessions; 1,812 support groups; and 10,671 therapy sessions provided in SFY 09/10). Coordinating response efforts; and Educating their communities on sexual assault and sexual abuse. Unmet Need: Rape Crisis Programs are experiencing waiting lists, severe staffing shortages and layoffs, and cannot meet the state’s need with current resources. Approximately 100 rape crisis advocates in the state of Florida provide services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In order to serve every victim of rape in Florida, each advocate would need to reach 7,130 female survivors to provide hotline services, crisis intervention, advocacy, medical intervention and therapy. Fewer than 10% of sexual violence programs are able with current resources to provide the standard services identified as those most needed by rape victims. As a result, many programs have waiting lists. Many programs cannot afford to have a licensed therapist on staff and lack staff to run support groups, especially groups for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and male survivors. Research indicates that trauma-related intervention services (trauma-focused counseling and therapy) are the services survivors want more of from rape crisis/sexual assault treatment programs. Rape Crisis Programs have the necessary expertise, but not the necessary funding, to provide what survivors consistently need and ask for.
Several would like to hire a volunteer coordinator to increase service provision but lack available funds. After-hours advocacy and accompaniment can be competently provided by well-trained, well-supervised volunteers. Volunteers who are able to provide direct services value that experience and, consequently, further engage the community in supporting the rape crisis program. A wellfunctioning, self-seeding volunteer program substantially reduces staff burnout and frees up staff members to provide more in-depth support and on-going advocacy for survivors. Without funding to hire a volunteer coordinator, all after-hours advocacy and accompaniment is provided by already overtaxed and underpaid staff members. Rural counties and outlying areas have very few, if any, services available. In rural areas, many victims have to drive 2 hours to see a rape crisis advocate/counselor or wait 2 weeks until a rape crisis counselor is available to visit their county. Follow-up medical care, including HIV prevention medication is not generally available. $2.5 million in recurring general revenue is needed to ensure that sexual assault victims who seek services in Florida receive crisis intervention, advocacy and response to 24 hour hotlines. Additional funding would be needed to ensure survivors have access to therapy to resolve trauma and to reach out to underserved populations. The Scope of the Problem: While 10,227 forcible sex offenses were reported in Florida in 2009, only 2,877 arrests were made and many more sex offenses went unreported. (The FBI and the Bureau of Justice estimate that only 38% of sexual assault are reported to law enforcement, which would mean that there were approximately 26,773 forcible sex offenses actually committed in Florida in 2009. According to national researchers, approximately one out of every nine adult women in Florida has been the victim of forcible rape. In other words, over 740,000 women in Florida have been the victims of forcible rape (Ruggiero and Kilpatrick, 2003). Yet, at current funding levels, Florida ranks 47th in the nation in the number of rape crisis programs per capita. One program exists for every 18,000 adult, female survivors. Victims of sexual assault who do not receive recovery services face serious risks to their health and well-being: Most sexual assault survivors will experience some array of physical and psychological symptoms over time including chronic pain, gastrointestinal disorders, pelvic pain and headaches (Screening Your Patients for Sexual Assault: A Guide for Health Care Professionals, FCASV, 2009). Victims of sexual assault who do not receive services are in danger of increased substance abuse, mental health problems including major depression, suicide, and post-traumatic stress disorder (National Center for Victims of Crime, 1999). Sixty-one percent of homeless girls and 16% of homeless boys report sexual abuse as the reason for leaving home (Estes & Weiner, 2001).
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funding briefing - Florida Council Against Sexual Violence

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