Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren signed a grant agreement between the Navajo Nation, the Navajo Nation Department of Health, and Utah Navajo Health System, Inc. (UNHS) to provide $1.5 million in funding for victim services during the FY 2025 grant period, from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026.
Approved through Navajo Nation Council Resolution CF-07-25, the funding was allocated to help prevent disruptions to victim advocacy services and other support services for victims of crime. According to information provided in the grant agreement, federal funding available to support victim services has declined significantly in recent years. Funding received by the Navajo Nation through the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime decreased from more than $3 million in FY 2022 to approximately $442,000 in FY 2024.
Program information included in the agreement notes that victim services on the Navajo Nation have historically operated with limited resources and staffing levels. Prior to the expansion of services supported through the Office for Victims of Crime Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside Program, victims of crimes other than domestic violence often did not receive services, and the number of available advocates was not adequate for the size of the population being served.
UNHS, a federally designated Community Health Center governed by a 100 percent Navajo Board of Directors, currently operates a Victim Advocacy Program serving communities in the Utah and New Mexico portions of the Navajo Nation. The program includes victim advocates, supervisory staff, prevention specialists, and support personnel who assist victims and their families.
Services provided through the program include a 24/7 victim advocacy hotline, mobile advocacy, transportation assistance for crime-related cases, crisis intervention, case management, protective order assistance, court support, and assistance with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) and Missing and Murdered Diné Relatives (MMDR) cases. The program also conducts outreach and prevention education efforts and provides services regardless of whether a victim chooses to report a crime or participate in the criminal justice system.
Through this agreement, the Navajo Nation Department of Health and UNHS will continue supporting critical victim services that help individuals, families, and communities across the Navajo Nation.
