New Funding Restrictions Threaten Critical Services for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors, LGBTQI+ Youth, and Unhoused Communities
Harrisburg, PA — The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) joins a nationwide group of 22 state domestic violence, sexual assault, housing, youth, and homelessness organizations that today filed a new lawsuit seeking immediate relief to stop the Trump-Vance administration’s sweeping and unlawful conditions placed on federal grant funding from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
These new funding restrictions put life-saving services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, LGBTQI+ people, immigrants, and all unhoused communities at risk.
“These new certifications and conditions require programs to make legally binding promises that conflict with laws, missions, and values, making it even more difficult to serve victims of domestic violence,” said Susan Higginbotham, CEO of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “DV victims are the largest population awaiting homelessness resources in Pennsylvania, and they wait longer for support than any other group. People fleeing violent homes deserve dignity, health, and safety without barriers to access.”
PCADV is a domestic violence coalition founded in 1976 and headquartered in Harrisburg, PA. The coalition serves as both a membership organization and a funder for Pennsylvania’s domestic violence direct service programs, making it the largest domestic violence coalition in the United States. It provides technical assistance, training, and advocacy, as well as development of service standards and monitoring programs for compliance with funding requirements.
“PCADV exists to protect and empower all survivors of domestic violence, but these new grant conditions are inconsistent with the very laws—VAWA, FVPSA, and VOCA—that safeguard those we serve,” Higginbotham said. “Domestic violence victims already face enormous challenges. These new federal conditions only add unnecessary barriers, putting their lives at even greater risk.”
Plaintiffs joining PCADV in the case include Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, California Partnership To End Domestic Violence, Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, District Of Columbia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Idaho Coalition Against Sexual And Domestic Violence, Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Jane Doe Inc. (The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault And Domestic Violence), Kansas Coalition Against Sexual And Domestic Violence, Montana Coalition Against Domestic And Sexual Violence, North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Oregon Coalition Against Domestic And Sexual Violence, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, ValorUS, Violence Free Minnesota, Virginia Sexual And Domestic Violence Action Alliance, Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, House of Hope, Community Care Alliance, Foster Forward, Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness, and Haus of Codec.
The plaintiffs are represented by Democracy Forward; Jacobson Lawyers Group; National Women’s Law Center; DeLuca, Weizenbaum, Barry & Revens for the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island; and the ACLU Foundation of Rhode Island.
Created and authorized by Congress, the affected programs—such as the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), Victims of Crime Acts (VOCA), and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act—have long provided critical support to organizations that serve survivors, families, youth, and unhoused individuals. Through politically motivated funding conditions, the administration is undermining Congress’s clear intent, threatening the effectiveness of these programs, and jeopardizing services that vulnerable communities across the country depend on.
“PCADV has spent nearly 50 years working to ensure that survivors have access to safe housing and supportive services so they can lead healthy, stable, and rewarding lives,” Higginbotham said. “These new requirements threaten to unravel that progress.”
To read the complaint, please click here.
To read Democracy Forward’s official release, please click here.
About PCADV
The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) is a statewide collaborative membership organization committed to ending intimate partner violence and all forms of violence and oppression.
Each year, we work with our 59 member programs across the state to provide free and confidential direct services to nearly 90,000 victims and survivors of domestic violence and their children in all 67 counties of the Commonwealth. Together, local programs and the statewide Coalition work in collaboration to deliver a continuum of services, support, and systems to help victims and survivors find safety, obtain justice, and build lives free of abuse.
At PCADV, we embrace diversity and its collective strength in creating a community where systems support ALL so everyone can thrive. Led by this principle and to fulfill our mission of ending all forms of violence, we simultaneously strive to challenge and eliminate all types of systemic racism, oppression, and injustice.
PCADV is proud to lead the charge and stand alongside our other state coalitions to provide a voice for all survivors and the programs that serve them.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please visit pcadv.org/find-help or call the national hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
About Democracy Forward
Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.
The case is Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence v. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. et al.
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