HARRISBURG \u2014 After years of asking for more funding, Pennsylvania\u2019s rape crisis centers saw their funding nearly doubled in this year\u2019s state budget, a lifeline that the resource-starved organizations say will allow them to restore staff and services.<\/p>\n
The $12 million increase brings total annual funding for the state\u2019s 47 rape crisis centers to just over $24 million, and comes after they were left flat-funded for six of the past 10 budget cycles.<\/p>\n
Administrators at and advocates for these centers say they had to convince Gov. Josh Shapiro and his administration that the situation was dire.<\/p>\n
\u201cI listened,\u201d Shapiro said at a Monday news conference. \u201cThese people are true public servants, the work they do every day,\u201d he said. \u201cThey deserve more, and they got it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lack of new state funding, along with federal cuts, the budget impasse<\/a> of 2025, and ongoing inflation, has troubled crisis centers in recent years, leaving the majority financially strained to the point of cutting staff and services, administrators and advocates told Spotlight PA.<\/p>\n They said the influx of dollars will help reinstate cut programs and workers, but cautioned there\u2019s still a long way to go to mend years of underfunding.<\/p>\n \u201cSexual assault centers have been ringing this bell with our legislators for the past two to three years, trying to explain that we are really coming into the precipice of a real risk for crisis services declining or crumbling in many different parts of our state and of our counties,\u201d said Ali Perrotto, chief executive of the Sexual Assault Resource and Counseling Center serving Lebanon and Schuylkill Counties.<\/p>\n The commonwealth\u2019s 47 rape crisis centers provide services to around 26,000 survivors of sexual violence annually, according to the state Department of Human Services. These services include 24\/7 hotlines and crisis counseling; prevention education; housing; and training on sexual assault-related issues.<\/p>\n State funding for these centers is distributed through a formula that takes into account population density, number of victims served, and hours of direct service provided. Centers also receive federal dollars, as well as grants and donations. Funding streams vary drastically by center: While some larger ones have relatively diverse finances, others are highly dependent on the state to operate.<\/p>\n In 2025, lawmakers approved a 2% funding bump amounting to around $250,000<\/a> more for all crisis centers. Advocates said this was not enough to meet the needs of organizations already in deep financial straits due to the four-month impasse that preceded the budget deal.<\/p>\n Rape crisis centers are among the nonprofits and other entities whose state payments get frozen when there is no budget. Perrotto said the situation forced SARCC to cut its prevention services and put off a capital purchase that would have provided housing for survivors in Lebanon County. The decision came after the center had to decide between investing in property or paying its staff, she said.<\/p>\n Other centers, she added, had to dip into reserve funds or use lines of credit to keep paying wages. When the budget finally passed last year, the number of workers had dwindled to the point where centers were unable to restore everything. And organizations that did take out loans or use lines of credit still have to pay interest, which can only be financed through fundraised dollars, not grants.<\/p>\n The impasse wasn\u2019t the only difficulty. Rape crisis centers receive funding from the federal Victims of Crime Act fund. Money in the fund comes from fines paid by people who are federally convicted and goes to a range of services for crime victims. However, administrative changes at the federal level have lowered the fund\u2019s balance.<\/a> A state guide<\/a> published this spring said money is now \u201ccritically low,\u201d a dip that has caused a 45% decrease in victim services funding since 2022.<\/p>\n At the same time, the number of survivors seeking services at rape crisis centers increased, Perrotto said.<\/p>\n That uptick stems from lawmakers expanding<\/a> the responsibility of local law enforcement, who now must directly refer victims to service agencies. This has increased the number of people coming through the doors of crisis centers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had more influx into the systems, even though we had fewer staff to meet the need and less funding to provide the services locally,\u201d Perrotto said.<\/p>\n There was often little rape crisis centers could do to tighten their belts further.<\/p>\n Perrotto said that over the past five years, SARCC has cut 50% of its staff. Those who remained working provided constant access to services, including a 24-hour support line along with counseling, legal, and medical support.<\/p>\n \u201cThe longer an impasse goes, the more of a tax there is on survivors and on the centers who are providing services to them,\u201d Perrotto said.<\/p>\n The fight for more funding<\/p>\n When Shapiro first made his budget pitch<\/a> in February, it didn\u2019t address these issues; he proposed keeping funding flat once again.<\/p>\n