KANSAS, September 28 - TOPEKA – (September 28, 2022) – Four Topeka organizations have been awarded more than $219,000 in grants to provide services for victims of crime, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced today.

The grants were awarded to support the following programs:

• CASA of Shawnee County, Inc., $19,000 to support the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program to ensure an increased number of children are able to benefit from volunteer advocacy through quality training and supervision.
• LifeHouse Child Advocacy Center, $15,000 to provide a coordinated multidisciplinary team approach to the joint investigation, specialized forensic interviewing, advocacy support and prosecution of child assault cases and other cases where children are the victims of crime including sexual abuse, severe physical abuse and witnesses of violent crime.
• LifeHouse Child Advocacy Center, $4,000 for operating expenditures for children’s advocacy centers.
• YWCA Center for Safety and Empowerment, $67,483 to provide direct support services to victims of human trafficking, including emergency shelter, a day center, and to continue improving their coordinated community response to human trafficking. 
• YWCA Center for Safety and Empowerment, $64,166 to support the ongoing expenses of operating the domestic violence/sexual assault center.
• TFI Family Services, Inc. - Topeka CEVC, $50,000 to provide safe and quality supervised visitation and exchange services for Topeka and the surrounding communities. 

“Organizations across Kansas do great work every day to support victims of crime,” Schmidt said. “We are proud to support these organizations through the victim services grant programs.”

The awards were made from the Human Trafficking Victims Assistance Fund, Protection from Abuse Fund, State Child Exchange and Visitation Centers Fund, State Crime Victims’ Assistance Fund for Child Abuse and Neglect, and the Children’s Advocacy Centers Fund. The Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Fund is funded through fines, penalties, forfeitures and State General Fund appropriations. The Protection from Abuse Fund is funded by State General Fund appropriations, marriage license fees, county court costs and municipal court assessments. The State Child Exchange and Visitation Centers Fund is funded through marriage license fees and State General Fund appropriations. The State Crime Victims’ Assistance Fund for Child Abuse and Neglect is funded through county court costs, municipal court assessments and State General Fund appropriations. The Children’s Advocacy Centers Fund is funded through the remittance of applicable fines, penalties and forfeitures from clerks of the district courts.

This year, the attorney general’s office awarded more than $2.5 million in grants to local and state crime victim assistance organizations. More information on the grant programs and the full list of award recipients is available on the attorney general’s website at www.ag.ks.gov.