The Violence Against Women Act--Keeping Waste and Fraud Out of the Program and Ensuring Funds Help Victims

"A review of individual VAWA grantee audits that were conducted from 1998-2010 by the Department of Justice Inspector General indicates that the problem with VAWA grantees’ administration and record keeping may actually be getting worse. During this timeframe, the Inspector General conducted a review of 22 individual grantees that received funding from VAWA programs. Of those 22 grantees, 21 were found to have some form of violation of grant requirements ranging from unauthorized and unallowable expenditures, to sloppy record keeping and failure to report in a timely manner. Some of these audits are downright appalling. In 2010, one grantee was found by the Inspector General to have questionable costs for 93 percent of the nearly $900,000 they received from the Justice Department. Another audit, this one from 2009, found that nearly $500,000 of a $680,000 grant was questioned because of inadequate support for expenditures. Another audit in 2005 questioned $1.2 million out of a $1.9 million grant. The list goes on and on for pages. Simply put, in today’s economic environment, we cannot tolerate this level of malfeasance in federal grant programs. There are too many victims out there that do not have access to necessary services for the Justice Department to continue to provide funding to entities that play fast and loose with taxpayer dollars."

Source: http://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/Article.cfm?customel_dataPageID_1502=35952

VAWA Needs a Serious Overhaul

"Although there is little credible evidence that VAWA programs are reducing the effects and occurrence of domestic and sexual violence, there is evidence that several of the policies instituted under VAWA may actually be harming the very victims they were designed to protect. For example, although approximately $25 million in VAWA funds go to support mandatory arrest policies, a recent Harvard study found that such policies actually lead to more intense levels of violence. According to the study, "Intimate partner homicides increased by about 60 percent in states with mandatory arrest laws." Another study found that women in states with mandatory arrest laws were less likely to report violence and request police assistance."

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christina-villegas/violence-against-women-act_b_2574388.html