Advocate for policy change with KCSARC
2026 STATE LEGISLATIVE SESSION
PRIORITY: FUNDING FOR CRIME VICTIM SERVICES
Status: $21 million secured for crime victims services in state supplemental budget
Survivors need and deserve immediate and comprehensive response when they seek support. In fact, sexual assault survivors have a right in state law to be referred to support in their community. That response has been at continued risk across Washington state for several years due to deep cuts to the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) program.
KCSARC partnered with organizations across the state again in 2026 to raise our voice to state lawmakers on behalf of survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and other violence. Legislators passed and the governor signed a budget that included a $21 million state appopriation to keep crime victims services level-funded next year.
Our fight is not over. This is the sixth year our organizations have requested stabilization funds. Each time, we have been provided temporary funding. We will continue to advocate for a crime victims stabilization fund for these services here in King County and statewide.
PRIORITY: Strengthen and protect survivor rights through SB 6017
Status: SB 6017 did not get a vote in the Senate.
The state legislature will reconvene in January 2027 for its next session.
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About our policy advocacy
KCSARC works at the state, local and federal level to strengthen public policies and resources that support survivors of sexual assault. Together with our supporters, partners, and with courageous survivors who participate in our Empowered Voices program, we are proud of the strides we’ve made on a number of fronts.
- Services at risk: We alerted state legislators that rising demand for services paired with both steep decreases in federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding and two decades of level state funding put availability of victim services at risk. State lawmakers have responded in recent years with one-time supplemental appropriations in the state budget. That stopgap funding helped temporarily stave off further reductions in services for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and other violent crimes. With our statewide and local partners, KCSARC will continue to advocate at all levels of government for permanent funding resources that stabilize victim services.
- Preventing sexual abuse, now and in the future: We have ensured every K-12 student in the state of Washington can access comprehensive sexual health education and with it, foundational lessons that better help identify sexual abuse and prevent sexual violence from happening.
- Increased access and removed barriers to Sexual Assault Protection Orders: Survivors can now seek SAPO protections effective for up to a lifetime. In 2021, we supported landmark legislation that removed barriers to protection orders for survivors.
- Eliminated the Statute of Limitations to prosecute child sexual abuse, and increased the time for adult victims to come forward.
- Called for prioritization of sexual assault survivors awaiting justice in the criminal justice system in King County — see our “Long Wait” report, and its 2024 follow up, Navigating Justice, which examined the experiences and outcomes of 408 victims in the King County Superior Court system.
- Co-hosted the first-ever Summit on Crime Survivors held in King County in 2025, bringing together survivors, advocates, community groups, prosecutors, law enforcement, judges and elected officials to focus what crime survivors and their families need to recover and heal.
- Hosting a roundtable in 2026 for members of our Empowered Voices program to connect and share their stories, insights and ideas with elected officials at the state, county and municipal level.
There’s more to do — and we need your help
We need to ensure every victim is able to speak their truth — and be heard. We’re working to stabilize supportive community resources for survivors, and for laws that protect survivors, uphold their rights and prevent further harm when they engage in the criminal justice system.
Join our email alert system to be the first to know when it’s time to speak up with your legislators about policies that impact survivors. We’ll let you know what the issue is and how to contact the right decision-makers.