‘We owe it to them’

MOSES LAKE — The need for New Hope’s and Kids Hope’s services is growing, but the money to fund them isn’t, according to Director Suzi Fode. 

“Overall … my program is looking at a 24% cut (in funding),” said Fode. 

New Hope and Kids Hope are a department of Grant County, although it also serves Adams County. That’s an area almost twice the size of the state of Delaware, served by a staff of 20. Despite being a county agency, almost all of New Hope’s funding comes from grants, Fode said.

“There's a lot of sources, and many of them are blended,” Fode said. “Our (Department of Social and Health Services) contract takes some state funds and a couple of different federal sources, applies a formula across the state and gives each domestic violence shelter a grant based on the way they fit in the formula. It's very complex.”

All in all, Fode manages 17 different grants, she said, each with its own set of requirements. The sexual assault program must be accredited by the state, while the children’s advocacy center requires federal accreditation. 

“It’s a lot of time and a lot of boxes to check to get that funding,” Fode said. 

Some of the grants are from private foundations and some are from different government entities. All of them, Fode said, are variable and provide fluctuating revenue to help those dealing with domestic violence, sexual assault or both, depending on a clients’ situation. 

“One of them is set to be cut by 52%,” she said. “It’s not a 10% cut, it’s not 20%. It’s 52%.” 

That cut is to the funds from Crime Victims Fund, established by Congress in 1984 through the Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA. The fund is financed by criminal fines, penalties and bond forfeitures from convictions in federal cases, according to the U.S. Office of Justice Programs. The OJP then distributes the money to thousands of programs that support victims of crimes. Because the amount of money in that fund can fluctuate pretty wildly from year to year, agencies like New Hope that depend on the money can’t count on a set amount. 

Funding cuts don’t mean the workload is decreased, though. In 2019, New Hope served 966 victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other crimes, per the agency’s internal data. In 2024 that figure was 1,897, an increase of 96%. At Kids Hope, staff conducted 219 child forensic interviews, for allegations of child abuse, neglect or sexual abuse in 2019. In 2024, that number had risen by 111%. 

“I need a team to provide advocacy services to all of those folks, and what I've asked them to do over the last five years is increase what they do by 41%,” Fode said. 

There is some hope that Senate Bill 5362, currently making its way through the Washington Legislature, will allocate enough money to fill the gap, Fode said. Thus far the bill is in the Senate Ways and Means Committee in Olympia. If approved by legislators and signed into law, the bill would provide $50 million statewide for fiscal years 2026 to 2029; $60 million for fiscal years 2030 through 2033; and, $70 million each fiscal year from 2034 forward. 

It is unknown how the state’s current financial challenges will impact whether the bill passes or not, or if it will be modified before passage. 

In the meantime, she’s doing what she can to make ends meet. 

“We owe it to our community,” Fode said. “These are the folks who can least say, ‘I need help.’ These are kids who can't say ‘I need help.’ We owe it to them to keep them safe.”