Pennsylvania’s 2026-27 budget passed on Sunday includes a historic funding increase that will nearly double the annual appropriation for the state’s 47 rape crisis centers.
The $12 million boost is the largest single-year increase ever for rape crisis services in Pennsylvania and brings the state’s total allocation to $24.171 million. It comes after minimal to no increases over the last decade that have strained organizations providing support to survivors.
Leaders from centers like Centre Safe in State College and sexual assault survivors have for years urged legislators to increase the appropriation, saying continued stagnant funding amounts to a cut for critical services.
“Rape crisis centers are a vital part of Pennsylvania’s public safety infrastructure,” Jennifer Pencek, executive director of Centre Safe said. “Advocates respond when survivors call after an assault, accompany victims through forensic examinations, help people understand their legal options, and provide counseling as survivors rebuild their lives. This support can also help survivors remain engaged with investigations and the criminal justice process.”
The increase nearly meets the amount called for by the Pennsylvania Coalition to Advance Respect, which works with each of the state’s rape crisis centers serving all 67 counties and had requested a $12.5 million increase to their line item in the Department of Human Services’ budget. The funding increase, they say, would reflect the true cost of providing trauma-informed care and could reduce wait times, ensure round-the-clock hotline coverage, stabilize staffing and expand prevention efforts.
Joyce Lukima, coalition director of PCAR, called the increase “a turning point for survivors and rape crisis centers across Pennsylvania.”
“This investment carries the voices of every survivor who spoke out, every advocate who kept showing up, and every center that continued serving its community through years of uncertainty,” Lukima said. “We are deeply grateful to Gov. Shapiro and the lawmakers who listened and acted. Because of this investment, rape crisis centers can begin rebuilding capacity and strengthening the services survivors depend on.”
DHS line item funding for rape crisis centers is allocated to PCAR, which then distributes it to the centers using a funding formula that incorporates population density, individuals served and service hours provided based on a rolling three-year average, Lukima told StateCollege.com in March.
While facing rising operational costs and growing demand, rape crisis centers dealt with flat state funding for six of the last 10 years and mostly small increases in other budgets, as well as an 11% reduction in federal Victims of Crime Act funding since 2020. Last year’s long state budget impasse further destabilized some programs, PCAR said, contributing to layoffs, service reductions and increased financial pressure.
The DHS line item is “by a very large percentage the largest funding stream” for rape crisis centers in Pennsylvania, Lukima said
Funding supports services such as 24-hour crisis hotlines, counseling, medical and legal advocacy, prevention education and accompaniment for survivors navigating hospitals, police investigations and court proceedings.
Statewide last year, rape crisis centers served 17,017 new clients, a 13% increase from 2024, answered 17,458 hotline calls, provided 119,330 hours of counseling and reached 242,000 children through school programs.
Centre Safe is a “dual center,” providing support to survivors of sexual assault as well as domestic violence and stalking for clients of all ages, identities and backgrounds. On average, it supports about 200 sexual assault survivors and 900 domestic violence survivors each year, along with providing emergency shelter for roughly 200 more individuals and families, while its hotline receives 1,200 to 1,500 calls annually, Pencek said in March.
“Those are just the people who have reached out to Centre Safe for help, not to mention the countless others that maybe just aren’t ready or maybe aren’t aware of services or maybe don’t have access to services,” Pencek said. “So when we get this funding… it’s to help those folks as well who just haven’t been able to access us yet.”
Free and confidential help is available through Centre Safe’s 24/7 toll-free hotline at 877-234-5050. For more information about Centre Safe and its services, visit centresafe.org.
