Layoffs, closures and gaps in oversight expected after hundreds of DOJ
grants are canceled
[April 30, 2025]
By JACK BROOK and CLAUDIA LAUER
A deaf mother trying to escape her abusive husband came to a domestic
violence shelter seeking help, but she couldn't communicate fluently
with American Sign Language.
Shelter workers contacted Activating Change, a group that provides sign
language interpreters who are trained to help people experiencing
trauma. Over the course of the year in the shelter, the woman worked
with the interpreter to file for divorce, gain custody of her children,
heal with therapy, and find a job and housing.
“Our superpower is adaptability, and having access to services like
Activating Change allows us to have that,” said Marjie George,
developmental director at the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
Services shelter.
Activating Change, which helps people with disabilities navigate the
criminal justice system, was one of hundreds of organizations that
received a notice on April 22 that the Department of Justice was
canceling grants they had received through the Office of Justice
Programs. More than 350 grants initially worth more than $800 million
were ended midstream, sparking layoffs and program closures.
The disabilities nonprofit had to lay off nearly half its 26 workers
after the government canceled $3 million in direct grants, about $1
million of which had already been spent, and ended pass-through grants
from other organizations.
Amy Solomon, former assistant attorney general who oversaw the Office of
Justice Programs and now a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal
Justice, said the cuts touched on every aspect of the department's
portfolio.
“This is highly unusual,” Solomon said. “You expect any administration
to have their own priorities, and to implement that in future budget
years and with future awards. You would not expect ... grants that have
already been granted, obligated or awarded to be pulled back.”
The Office of Justice Programs typically awards nearly $4 billion in
grants annually.
It was unclear how much money it would take back since some rescinded
grants were initially awarded as far back as 2021. Grantees were locked
out of the financial system a few days before they were due to be
reimbursed for already completed work.
How the Justice Department planned to reallocate whatever money is
returned was also unclear. Some came from dedicated pots of funding,
including from the Victims of Crime Act, which collects fines and
penalties in federal cases for programs serving crime victims.
A department spokesperson did not respond to questions about the cuts.
The cancellation notices noted that grant holders had 30 days to appeal.
As of Friday, the department had reversed course on a handful of grants,
restoring some funding.
Law enforcement priorities
The cancellation letters obtained by The Associated Press explained the
cuts by saying the department had changed its priorities to focus on
“more directly supporting certain law enforcement operations, combatting
violent crime, protecting American children, and supporting American
victims of trafficking and sexual assault."
But advocates, researchers and leaders in criminal justice said many
grants served those purposes. Some cuts seemed to target programs that
were started by or were a priority under the Biden administration, such
as grants for violence intervention programs. But others appeared to
target priorities under Trump's first administration, including elder
abuse and financial exploitation.
While cities and law enforcement agencies largely escaped direct cuts,
many are feeling the impacts of cancellations to partner programs.
In a scathing briefing Wednesday, New Jersey Attorney General Matt
Platkin noted nearly $13 million in ongoing program funding to the state
was canceled.
“To say, ‘We’re going to cut programs that protect people from bias,
that help people with opioid addiction, that keep guns off our streets’
— it’s irresponsible, it’s reckless, it’s dangerous, and it’s going to
get people killed,” Platkin said.
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In Baltimore, anti-violence organization Roca is looking for other
funding sources after losing about $1 million in grant dollars. The
program targets at-risk young men, including gunshot survivors, who
receive mentoring, job training and life coaching. It has almost
certainly contributed to Baltimore’s recent reductions in homicides,
city officials and participants have said.
“I’m living proof that it works,” said Sheldon Smith-Gray, a
graduate and current employee of the program, which he credits with
turning his life around, even after his cousin was killed last year.
Cuts were made to research organizations that create standards for
training or data collection and provide resources for smaller law
enforcement agencies.
Three grants to the Police Executive Research Forum were eliminated,
including a study of police plans and responses to protests to
develop practices for preventing civil disturbances. And the
National Policing Institute lost grants that provided technical
assistance to rural police departments and support for improving
relationships between police and communities of color.
Mandated functions
A handful of the canceled grants paid for services intertwined with
government functions mandated by law, including required audits
under the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
Impact Justice, which lost millions, had created and managed the
PREA Resource Center for more than a decade. The center has had a
hand in nearly every aspect of the implementation and management of
the federal regulations from the online audit platform, auditor
certification, and developing trainings for auditors, prison
officials and others.
“It's a collaborative relationship, but we are the ones that execute
the work and have the systems and maintain the systems,” said
Michela Bowman, vice president of Impact Justice and senior adviser
to the PREA Resource Center.
She explained that the center designed and owns the audit software
and data collection systems.
“I can't tell you what the DOJ plans to do in the alternate,” said
Alex Busansky, president and founder of Impact Justice.
Safety and victim services
Nonprofits that provide services to crime victims also lost grants.
Advocates say many cuts will impact public safety, like the
elimination of funding for the national crime victims hotline or the
loss of a grant to the International Association of Forensic Nurses
to provide technical assistance and training to SANE— Sexual Assault
Nurse Examiners— in underserved areas.
“It’s very important for a survivor to be able to access a rape exam
done by a SANE nurse. It’s vital,” said Ilse Knecht, director of
policy and advocacy at The Joyful Heart Foundation, and who oversees
the agency’s efforts to track and combat a national backlog in
untested forensic rape kits.
Grants that directly address the backlog seemed to be safe for now,
but she said services offered to survivors are essential.
“When we don’t keep this system that has been set up to keep victims
safe and make them want to participate in the criminal justice
system ... we are really doing a disservice," she added. "How is
this helping public safety?”
For Activating Change, the cuts meant an immediate reduction in
services. Its leaders rejected the idea their services don't align
with federal priorities.
“It is a catastrophic blow to our organization," said Nancy Smith,
the organization’s executive director. "But also to the safety net
for people with disabilities and deaf people who’ve experienced
violent crime in our country.”
___
Associated Press reporter Lea Skene in Baltimore contributed to this
report. Brook reported from New Orleans. Lauer reported from
Philadelphia.
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