For the past two years, the legislature has approved one-time funding for domestic violence services. Now, the Landry administration is working to secure permanent funding.
KATC met with Director of Human Trafficking Prevention Monica Taylor to discuss the administration's efforts.
"It looks like a cut, but because it was one-time funding, it just wasn't placed in the budget again when the budget was made," Taylor said.
To save money, all funding considered "one-time" was not included in the governor's budget, which affected domestic violence prevention services.
"The governor made a commitment to take one-time money out of the budget and to really make sustainable funding choices on things that are important to the people of the state of Louisiana," Taylor explained.
According to a study from Tulane University's Newcomb Institute, more than half of all adults in Louisiana have experienced physical violence during their lifetime.
Taylor says the governor believes domestic violence prevention funds should be permanently included in the budget because they positively impact the criminal justice system.
"The longer victims stay in contact with advocacy services, the longer that victim is going to stay in touch with the criminal justice system in a good way. They are going to stay, and they are going to see that their perpetrator goes to jail, so this really is a criminal justice issue, and the governor is committed to doing as much as possible for our criminal justice system," Taylor said.
The governor is working with the legislature and the division of administration to provide funding for domestic violence prevention services.
"We will go back to the table. We will look at what our revenue forecasting is from there, and then we will be able to see at what level we will be able to put some of this money from the general fund," Taylor explained.
Taylor tells me that through the legislative session in April, they hope to have the funds added back to the budget, but they aren't certain how much money will be added.
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Watch the full interview here:
