COVA endeavors to uplift victims and survivors’ voices through raising awareness and understanding of their needs, concerns, and barriers to accessing justice, safety, and healing to Colorado lawmakers. Victims and survivors of crime are an incredibly diverse group with needs that go beyond the criminal justice system. COVA’s policy decisions are driven by the needs of survivors and Colorado victim service agencies through an intersectional lens. We propose, analyze, and take positions on policies at the intersection of victimization, justice systems, and supportive healing through victim services and access to resources.
Notable policies passed since 2020 are updating the Victim’s Right Act and Victim’s Compensation to create greater opportunities for survivors to be heard and have financial needs met after victimization; lobbying the Joint Budget Committee to allocate American Rescue Plan and General Fund dollars to victim services as Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding continues to decrease; and leading a ballot measure initiative to create sustainable victim service funding.
COVA’s policy goal is to build equity within the criminal justice system for victims and survivors of crime through expanding victim’s rights, developing sustainable victim service funding, and uplifting healing for crime victims and survivors. Victims and survivors of crime are an incredibly diverse group with needs that go beyond the criminal justice system.
COVA’s Public Policy team will provide an overview of the 2026 legislative session. Legislative policy focuses on uplifting survivor voice and experience to promote justice and healing, increase victim rights, and increase access to sustainable funding for victim services. We analyze and take positions on policies at the intersection of victimization, justice systems, and supportive healing through victim services and access to resources.
COVA strives to raise the understanding of victim and survivor concerns and barriers within the consciousness of policy makers and the public. COVA’s policy goal is creating equity within the criminal justice system for victims and survivors of crime through expanding victim’s rights, developing sustainable victim service funding, and uplifting healing for crime victims and survivors.
COVA strives to raise the understanding of victim and survivor concerns and barriers within the consciousness of policy makers and the public. Victim and survivor rights are recognized as an essential element of the criminal justice process and healing. To further these goals, COVA addresses public policy issues both inside and outside the legislative arena. COVA drafts and takes positions on proposed bills relevant to victims and survivors, uplifts survivor voice, and advocates for those serving victims and survivors. COVA’s policy decisions are driven by the needs of survivors and Colorado victim service agencies through an intersectional lens.
COVA’s policy program operates statewide through legislative work and is currently advocating for a state-level ballot measure for sustainable victim service funding.
COVA’s policy goal is creating equity within the criminal justice system for victims and survivors of crime through expanding victim’s rights, developing sustainable victim service funding, and uplifting healing for crime victims and survivors. Victims and survivors of crime are an incredibly diverse group with needs that go beyond the criminal justice system. In forthcoming years COVA plans to continue our efforts to increase victim safety, promote crime prevention, and expand legislative focus to address housing, health, and economic equity for survivors.
In 2023, COVA hired the first full-time Public Policy Director for the organization. COVA’s policy program has increased capacity and efficacy since 2020. COVA has been highly successful in the legislative arena by advocating for victim’s rights and safety. In 2024, the policy program’s success rate was 95%. COVA tracked 51 policies and took positions on 26, and of the 20 support positions all but two passed out of the legislature and were signed by the Governor. Of the four opposition positions, all were indefinitely postponed. Our success rate has continuously increased since 2020 with a rate of 65% to 95% in 2024. Notable policies passed since 2020 are updating the Victim’s Right Act and Victim’s Compensation to create greater opportunities for survivors to be heard and have financial needs met after victimization; lobbying the Joint Budget Committee to allocate American Rescue Plan and General Fund dollars to victim services as Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding continues to decrease; and leading a ballot measure initiative to create sustainable victim service funding. COVA began to expand the policy work at the national level to include supporting additional fixes to VOCA and prevention funding, workplace safety related to mass shootings, and tracking Supreme Court decisions that impact victims and survivors.
During the grant period, COVA would like to continue to see a success rate in the 90th percentiles. Our goal is to pass legislation that is supportive to survivors’ needs, increasing victims’ rights and safety, and creating equity for survivors in the realm of the criminal justice system, housing, economic, and health. Additionally, it is to indefinitely postpone legislation that ignores survivors’ needs or creates additional barriers to healing.
COVA is continuing to build capacity to craft policy, monitor and advocate for positions taken on policies, communicate calls to action, and collaborate with community partners to uplift victim rights, safety, and equity. COVA determines policy positions through the policy committee voting protocol. Additionally, COVA will continue to track Supreme Court decisions and Colorado Supreme Court decisions that impact survivors’ lives.
The policy program is cultivating victim and survivor speakers to testify at legislative committees to express their experiences, barriers to healing, and how the policy would impact their life. The program is continuing to build recruitment with victim service providers, storytelling training, and materials to prepare survivors for legislative advocacy.
In 2024, COVA tracked 51 policies and took positions on 26, and of the 20 support positions all but two passed out of the legislature and were signed by the Governor. Of the four opposition positions, all were indefinitely postponed. In 2023, COVA tracked 56 policies and took positions on 12. Of the 10 bills COVA supported all were signed by the Governor and successfully indefinitely postponed one policy COVA opposed. Notable policies passed since 2020 are updating the Victim’s Right Act and Victim’s Compensation to create greater opportunities for survivors to be heard and have financial needs met after victimization; lobbying the Joint Budget Committee to allocate American Rescue Plan and General Fund dollars to victim services as Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding continues to decrease; and leading a ballot measure initiative to create sustainable victim service funding. In alignment with Rose Community Foundation, COVA supports the Freedom to Marry ballot measure and recognizes the intersection of marginalized identities increases the risk of victimization.
COVA’s capacity to take positions, advocate on behalf of, and bring survivors to the conversation has continuously increased. The policy program plans to build a network of survivors to advise and advocate for policy to better the lives of victims and survivors of crime in Colorado.
The most pressing need is for sustainable, consistent, and flexible funding available for victim service agencies and direct financial assistance available for victims and survivors. As federal funding continues to decrease, Colorado victim services are struggling to meet the needs of victims, survivors, maintaining staff salaries, and preserving current programming. Victim services across Colorado have reported increases in both services requested and the complexity and lethality of the cases. COVA is working with other statewide victim-focused coalitions to bring forth a ballot measure for sustainable funding. Agencies across Colorado are on the cusp of closing their doors or cutting programming, leaving survivors without resources in their community.
Bringing forth lived experience of victims and survivors to policy is key to ensuring victim’s rights are actively considered and furthered, options outside the criminal justice arena are expanded, and healing is centered. As victims and survivors are a widely diverse and intersectional group, COVA recognizes the difficulty of meeting the needs of all through legislative action. COVA is rooted in trauma-informed care, survivor-centered advocacy practices to uplift survivor healing, support advocates and advocacy agencies, and community healing. Additionally, COVA recognizes victims, survivors, advocates, and our communities are filled with diverse experiences, voices, and approaches to heal our communities and continues to listen to these lived experiences to drive policy decisions.
COVA successfully led and supported the following policies:
If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions contact Courtney.
