FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: media@vera.org

NEW YORK — The Vera Institute of Justice (Vera), a 64-year-old national justice reform organization, received a notice of termination from the Department of Justice regarding five critical grants, totaling approximately $5 million. This decision, communicated on April 4, 2025, was effective immediately.

The Department of Justice's justification for the funding termination is that Vera's work “no longer effectuate[s] the program goals or agency priorities.” The programs and services endangered by these funding cuts include:

• Helping correctional staff across the country improve prison operations, training, and culture for both officers and people incarcerated;
• Expanding access to counseling and treatment for people in mental health crisis, so that police do not have to respond alone in these situations; and
• Supporting police and law enforcement to better serve deaf survivors of domestic violence.

Vera is the latest civil society organization to be targeted by the Trump administration. “The work we do is essential for more safety and justice. It is above partisan politics,” said Nick Turner, President and Director of the Vera Institute of Justice.

In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi seeking reversal of the decision, Turner notes that of the dozens of peer organizations that receive federal funding from the Department of Justice, Vera is the only one known to have had its grants terminated so abruptly. And, given the relatively small size of Vera’s grants compared to the Department’s grant budget of almost $6 billion, trimming waste and gaining efficiency is not a credible justification.

“This leads us to believe that we are being targeted for our public opposition to President Trump’s mass deportation agenda and his gutting of federal funds for mental health and drug treatment, among other actions,” said Turner.

Turner emphasizes that Vera’s work will continue as the organization pursues a formal appeal.

“We are committed to these programs and will continue the work with our community partners and leaders in the corrections, law enforcement, and public health fields,” said Turner.

Read the full letter here: vera.org/dept-of-justice-letter-ag-040925

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