According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. Most U.S. women’s shelters offer victims of domestic violence and their families not only housing, food and clothing but also prevention, treatment and case management services. These facilities generally rely on diverse funding sources, including grants from all levels of government and donations from foundations, nonprofit groups and individuals.
Violence Victims
The Department of Justice, one of the three cabinet-level federal agencies most responsible for funding domestic violence services, operates 19 different grant programs via the Office on Violence Against Women, as a result of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act and follow-up legislation. These programs aim to benefit populations at heightened risk for violence and/or underserved by current programs, including Native American women, rural women, women with disabilities, women attending college, elderly women, and children and youth exposed to violence against women. Funding also may cover men and male youth, and clients such as immigrants and refugees, who often face cultural and language barriers with service providers. Through the 1984 Victims of Crime Act, the DOJ's Office for Victims of Crime administers the Crime Victims Fund, which women’s shelters can access to support domestic violence and sexual assault services. Women’s shelters serving Native American clients may also benefit from the Victim Assistance in Indian Country program, established in 1988.
Family Violence Prevention
The Family Violence Prevention and Services Grant Program stands as the largest single federal funding stream for emergency domestic violence services as of 2010. Through grants routed from the Department of Health and Human Services to state, tribal and territorial governments, the program supports more than 1,500 community-based domestic violence initiatives every year. Along with funding the National Domestic Violence Hotline, this program subsidizes training and technical assistance to domestic violence service providers; direct family violence prevention and treatment services; and program research and evaluation projects.
Emergencies
Like other agencies that serve large numbers of homeless clients, women’s shelters can access Emergency Shelter Grants Program money for homelessness prevention, provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Funding also goes toward support services for currently homeless clients, including child care, health care, crisis counseling and case management; shelter operation and maintenance; and conversion of buildings into new shelters, as well as the costs of grant administration. Also, the Recovery Act of 2009 created an addition to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or TANF, popularly known as “welfare.” Its Emergency Fund makes basic and onetime crisis assistance and subsidized employment available to more low-income families.
Homeless/Low-Income
As many clients of women’s shelters are homeless and/or low-income, the Department of Health and Human Services runs five grant programs specifically targeted to homeless persons and 14 programs that address the needs of low-income and, in many cases, homeless Americans. These grants address such needs as health care, including mental health, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS and maternal child health services; transitional housing; assistance to street youths; and child support enforcement.
