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Federal funding cuts could impact Louisiana sexual assault survivor groups

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lailluminator.com – Julie O’Donoghue – 2025-03-04 12:40:00

Federal funding cuts could impact Louisiana sexual assault survivor groups

by Julie O’Donoghue, Louisiana Illuminator
March 4, 2025

Organizations providing services to sexual assault survivors plan to ask Gov. Jeff Landry and the Louisiana Legislature for an extra $2 million in state funding this year. The groups say they need the money to insulate themselves from potential federal funding cuts. 

“Without money coming in, all of our rape crisis centers and us as a coalition are not going to survive,” Rafael de Castro, executive director of the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault, said during a meeting of the Sexual Assault Oversight Commission last week.

Louisiana’s rape crisis centers are dependent on three types of federal funding to pay for almost all of their operations. One of those sources, which comes through the Victims of Crime Act, was slashed 40% last year and is expected to be cut another 40% before the end of the year, de Castro said. 

The two other buckets of federal money come through the Violence Against Women Act, which expires in 2027 and could face a difficult renewal in Congress. 

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Several of the competitive grants in the U.S. Department of Justice that rape crisis centers receive annually have also been in limbo since President Donald Trump took office, said Morgan Lamandre, president and CEO of Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response (STAR), the largest provider of survivor services in the state. 

The missing money from the Victims of Crime Act alone threatens to close 12 to 14 local rape crisis centers in Louisiana before the end of the year. They currently operate in every Louisiana parish except for Catahoula, Concordia, LaSalle and Winn.

The centers provide therapy, support groups, emergency hotlines and volunteers to accompany survivors to hospital. STAR also provides legal services for clients who need help with restraining orders, child custody matters and other civil disputes. 

The survivor organizations ran into funding problems earlier this year when the Trump administration temporarily froze a wide swath of federal money it provides to states. Among the assistance held back was funding for sexual assault prevention programs, de Castro said.

The centers were only able to avoid laying off staff because the Louisiana Department of Health backfilled the loss of federal funding for 30 days until the original grant funding started flowing again, he said. 

Attorney General Liz Murrill and Gov. Jeff Landry’s office will also appeal to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to open up federal grants again for sexual assault services.

Monica Taylor, Landry’s director of human trafficking, said she and Murrill personally talked to Bondi about the issue. Taylor is also drafting a letter explaining how the federal funding in question is used in Louisiana, she said at the commission meeting last week.

Louisiana is unusually dependent on the federal government for sexual assault survivor resources. The state provides money for sexual assault forensic medical exams – commonly called rape kits – but it directs no financial help to rape crisis centers for victim advocacy or counseling. 

“There’s no money specially allocated for those services,” Taylor said. 

The Landry administration is working on legislation that would, for the first time, provide a steady source of state funding for rape crisis centers as well as domestic violence shelters and child advocacy centers, which support abuse victims who are minors. 

Taylor said the proposal would bring a “small amount of money through court fees that would go to all of those groups.” She declined to provide further details about the plan, which is still being drafted.

State Rep. Kellee Hennessy Dickerson, R-Denham Springs, will sponsor the bill from the governor’s office once it is finalized. 

Lawmakers might have to be convinced that more money needs to be spent on sexual assault response. Members of the legislature, who are overwhelmingly men, aren’t always aware of how significant the problem is, said Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton. 

“They think the numbers are minute. They don’t realize the number of victims that we are talking about,” Mizell said at the commission meeting. “There’s a general attitude of ‘we’ve already put enough money into that.’”

Taylor agreed that it will take a push from advocates and sexual assault survivors to convince legislators to make the services a budget priority.

“There are a lot of really good people in that building across the way,” Taylor said, referring to the State Capitol where legislators meet. “But there are some who think this is somebody else’s problem.”

“I just wish that the people in their lives who are hiding [as sexual assault survivors] would stand up to them,” she said.

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Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.

The post Federal funding cuts could impact Louisiana sexual assault survivor groups appeared first on lailluminator.com

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Jurors view crime scene evidence on Day 3 of Taymor McIntyre’s capital murder trial

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www.youtube.com – KSAT 12 – 2025-04-03 18:14:36

SUMMARY: On Day 3 of Taymor McIntyre’s capital murder trial, jurors viewed crime scene evidence, including photos and a key 9mm shell casing, related to the 2017 robbery and murder of photographer Mark Salivar. Testimony focused on the investigation’s beginnings, revealing that police found a casing and marijuana at the scene outside a Chick-fil-A. Surveillance footage has been mentioned but not yet shown; it reportedly captures a black car and a struggle with Salivar. Tomorrow, a medical examiner will testify, along with three individuals linked to McIntyre, one of whom took a plea deal. Discussions around McIntyre’s rap career continue to unfold.

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Jurors in the capital murder trial of rapper Taymor McIntyre, known as Tay-K-47, viewed key pieces of evidence Thursday, including crime scene photos and a shell casing.

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Jury deliberations set to begin in monumental oil and gas lawsuit | Louisiana

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www.thecentersquare.com – By Nolan McKendry | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-03 14:16:00

(The Center Square) – A historic trial that could compel oil and gas companies to pay billions for Louisiana’s coastal wetlands restoration reached its climax this week, with closing arguments delivered Thursday at the Louisiana 25th Judicial District Court in lower Plaquemines Parish. 

The lawsuit, pitting the parish against companies including Chevron USA, Inc., is the first of 42 similar cases filed since 2013 to reach trial, accusing the industry of violating state permitting laws and exacerbating wetlands loss.

Chevron, The Texas Company, Atlantic Richfield Company, ConocoPhillips, and The Louisiana Land and Exploration Company all filed a motion in opposition in 2022 to keep the case in federal court.

After over a decade of legal battles, Plaquemines Parish, led by attorney John Carmouche, is seeking nearly $3 billion in damages. A victory could set a precedent, potentially forcing oil companies to pay tens of billions across all cases — funds legally mandated for coastal restoration. 

The litigation has weathered three attempts by the companies to shift it to federal court, a venue they viewed as advantageous, with the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals last affirming its return to state court in October of 2022.

“If somebody causes harm, fix it,” Carmouche said in his opening statement. 

The parish alleges decades of unregulated oilfield activity, including canal dredging, devastated its coastline. 

Chevron says it’s being sued for Texaco’s pre-2001 oil and gas work under a 1980 law not meant to cover earlier activities. It also claims the case belongs in federal court since some work tied to World War II was under federal guidance. Chevron acquired Texaco in 2001.

As the jury prepares to deliberate, the outcome could mark a turning point, potentially delivering unprecedented industry accountability for Louisiana’s fading coast—or a major setback for restoration efforts.

The post Jury deliberations set to begin in monumental oil and gas lawsuit | Louisiana appeared first on www.thecentersquare.com

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Reproductive Justice Fund up for another San Antonio City Council vote Thursday

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www.youtube.com – KSAT 12 – 2025-04-03 06:07:38

SUMMARY: The San Antonio City Council is set to vote on whether to allocate an additional $100,000 to the controversial Reproductive Justice Fund, originally designed to help cover travel costs for women seeking abortions. Although nearly half a million dollars in contracts were approved, none funded travel expenses, prompting renewed calls for more financial support. Some groups, like Beat AIDS Coalition Trust, are cautious about applying again, seeking legal assurances regarding abortion-related funding. Advocates emphasize the urgent need for funding, citing a crisis in Texas where women struggle to access abortion care amid ongoing legal challenges and restrictions.

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The San Antonio City Council will vote Thursday morning on whether to put another $100,000 into a controversial health fund.

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