The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and multiple community-based organizations across the region are pushing lawmakers in Olympia to maintain funding for crime survivor services in their 2027 supplemental budget, warning that programs could face steep cuts without additional support.
Under the current supplemental budget, crime victim services are funded at $12 million or about half of the $21.38 million advocates say is needed to maintain baseline year-over-year funding. Without legislative action, organizations that provide domestic violence shelter beds, operate crisis lines, deliver victim advocacy, and offer civil legal aid could see funding reduced by roughly 50%.
“Without increasing funding to $21.38 million, programs will face significant reductions, and in some communities, potential closures, directly impacting crime survivor safety and access to support,” said King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion. “This is a public safety issue, and lives are at risk if we do not maintain funding. I am urging our legislature to make crime victims a priority.”
Advocates say the funding gap comes at a time when demand for services remains high, and resources are already strained.
“The bottom line is, we cannot keep doing more with less, and unfortunately, survivors are the ones who are going to feel this first,” Laurel Redden, Communications Director with the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, told KIRO Newsradio. “We’ve worked for 50 years to reassure survivors that they’re not alone and that help is available. From the moment they reach out for help, they need that certainty when they gather the courage to reach out, that help is in fact available, and all of that’s at risk right now.”
WA budget offers some flexibility, but advocates worry it won’t be enough
Governor Bob Ferguson’s proposed 2026–27 supplemental budget targets three main priorities, including housing, transportation, and affordability, as the state adjusts its two-year spending plan to reflect changing needs. While Washington operates on a biennial budget cycle, the supplemental budget allows lawmakers to fine-tune funding for key services such as public schools, road construction and maintenance, health care, and public safety.
Budget writers also have slightly more flexibility than expected: an updated revenue forecast projects the state will collect $75.28 billion between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2027, which comes to $827 million more than previously estimated.
However, Doris O’Neal, founder of Survivors FIRST and Director of Gender-Based Violence and Specialized Services at YWCA Seattle, worries about sustained funding for communities and victims facing disproportionate barriers.
“Domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking, many survivors are dealing with trauma, they’re dealing with homelessness, they’re jobless because of the domestic violence that they have experienced, and it takes time and effort to rebuild that for them,” O’Neal explained to KIRO Newsradio. “If they have children, if they can’t pay for daycare to go to work… this is why this funding is so essential, because it supports agencies like the YWCA and the many others to be able to support the survivor as they’re going through their experience and rebuilding their lives.”
Colleen McIngalls, executive director of the Children’s Justice Center of King County, which serves as the county’s Child Advocacy Center, said programs statewide are at risk.
“We are at a breaking point. If the Washington State Legislature does not restore the full $21.38 million in victim services funding, programs across our state will close their doors — and once that infrastructure is dismantled, it takes years to rebuild, if it can be rebuilt at all,” McIngalls said. “There should be no hesitation when it comes to sustaining the services that keep victims alive. It is time for Washington to stand up for survivors, sustain these services, and ensure that children in our state stay safe and alive.”
Bridgette Maryman, chief of the Gender-based Violence and Prevention Division at the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, said funding levels should reflect the state’s stated values.
“Our state budget should be consistent with our community’s values,” Maryman said. “If we say we believe victims and we want to keep them safe and help them heal, we must fund victim services at the level that meets the need. Otherwise, state leaders are telling victims they do not matter, and they are not believed.”
Leticia Figueroa, director of Victim Services in the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, said lawmakers have an opportunity to act.
“By allocating $21.38 million, the legislature has an opportunity to affirm that we believe victims deserve safety, dignity, and support,” Figueroa said. “Underfunding means fewer advocates, fewer services, and more survivors forced to face trauma without the help they deserve.”
Maintaining funding for crime survivor services has been one of Manion’s top legislative priorities for several years. Last year, she testified in support of SB 5362, which would make funding for crime survivor services sustainable into the future.
The 2026 legislative session is scheduled to end on March 12.
Follow Luke Duecy on X. Read more of his stories here. Submit news tips here.