Wisconsin Department of Justice faces 70% budget cut

The Wisconsin Department of Justice says they received $20 million for a year of victim services grants from the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance for its biennial budget. The DOJ says this is significantly less than what they requested. On Monday, Attorney General Josh Kaul held a press conference alongside several victim service providers from across the state, calling for the committee to reconsider its funding. Kaul said for the past five years, the DOJ has provided around $44 million each fiscal year to victim services providers in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds. He says now it is cut to $13 million, which is about a 70% cut. County and city resources across the state rely on state funding and grants to support victims.