Colorado victim advocates being laid off, slashes to budgets to blame

As funding and grants dry up for victim advocate services, Colorado law enforcement and district attorney offices are having to consider cutting services to victims of crimes in 2026. CBS News Colorado has confirmed multiple agencies in Northern Colorado are facing threat of cutting victim advocate services, and some have already done so.

The Weld County District Attorney's Office, lead by Michael Rourke, confirmed they had to eliminate a victim's advocate position for 2026.

"We are starting to become concerned of what services we can provide to victims who come into our office," Rourke said.

Rourke said his office is far from the only one facing such financial challenges heading into 2026.

"It is largely an issue we are having with victim services funding across the criminal justice system," Rourke said.

Weld County failed to secure enough funding for Rourke's office in 2026, causing him to have to lay off one of his victim advocates in order to cut the budget by nearly $100,000.

CBS News Colorado confirmed state funding has seen a dip in cash flow for such positions of late. Factors include cuts from congress, less grant money being available, as well as a dip in funds as the result of judges not collecting surcharges from those convicted of crimes or receiving citations.

"Judges became much more willing to find a defendant indigent," Rourke said.

People who are found guilty of felonies and misdemeanors, or even those who receive citations for traffic violations, may be required to pay into a state fund that helps provide victim services.

However, by classifying someone as indigent, Colorado judges are contributing toward the depletion of the fund. This comes only years after the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in courts shutting down and jails clearing, also reducing cash flow into the fund.

"You couple all these things together, and we start to see that real impact on victim services funding around the state," Rourke said.

Gabriela Diaz has worked in Weld County as a victim's advocate for many years, and said the services her peers provide to those during troubling times are vital.

"They appreciate you being there," Diaz said.

Diaz's job was not eliminated during the 2026 budget cuts, but she said it is challenging to learn that not everyone was immune from the cuts.

"It's sad. It is hard and it is difficult," Diaz said.

Staff like Diaz help victims know their rights, address the court, understand the judicial system, offer emotional support and even help them offset costs incurred by the judicial process. Diaz said that has even included helping one family obtain funding to board their dog while they traveled to Colorado for a criminal proceeding.

"You see it in their faces, you see they are comfortable and know everything is going to be okay. No matter how difficult it may be," Diaz said.

Rourke said Colorado's Supreme Court recently motioned to make it more difficult for judges to declare someone indigent as a way to help offset the draining of the funds going to victim advocates.

However, Rourke said the need for such professionals is growing while the funding for them is being cut by government agencies.

"We have a growing population. We have a growing crime rate," Rourke said. "I think many DA's offices would say we need more (victim advocates, not less.)"

The Weld County Sheriff's Office confirmed they were at one point facing funding challenges that could've resulted in their victim advocates being cut. However, they were able to adjust their budget in order to retain their limited staff.

Sheriff Steve Reams sent CBS News Colorado the following statement also connecting the state's approach on crime for the current economic issues around advocates:

"Across Colorado, soft-on-crime judicial decisions that allowed defendants to plead to lesser offenses and waive fines, fees, and court costs have sharply reduced the revenue that support both VALE (Victim Assistance and Law Enforcement) and VOCA (Victims of Crime Act). As a result, funding for these grants has dropped significantly.  In prior years, these grants assisted in funding some equipment and higher percentages of salaries of our Victim Advocates. For 2026, grant funding has been cut again. The grants are expected to cover just over half of advocate salaries and none of the associated equipment costs. The remaining expenses will now fall to the Weld County general fund."

The Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Center in Northern Colorado told CBS News Colorado their funding for 2026 has been cut by $500,000, or one third of their annual operations budget.

"If we weren't here to help people, who is going to do it?" Diaz said.

Law requires law enforcement and prosecutors to provide victim services to those in need. However, it does not say how that must be done. Therefore, some agencies have warned that duty would have to either be passed on to deputies, police and lawyers, or diluted down to an email or a pamphlet with generic information.

Referencing a Weld County commissioner's sentiments, Rourke raised a concern of how his county's government is looking to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a new courthouse complex in Greeley while also cutting positions like those in his office.

"There are governmental entities around this state that are willing to fund high-profile high-dollar justice centers. But they are not willing to fund or provide the resources that are necessary to the people who are coming into those buildings to seek justice. That is a swing and a miss," Rourke said.