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The Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2017 National Census of Victim Service Providers confirmed 11,567 victim service providers in the United States.[51] By contrast, there are only 21 "for Deaf, by Deaf" victim service providers across the country. These programs represent a mere .002 percent of all victim service providers in the United States. Almost three-quarters of the states/territories in the United States (71 percent) do not have any "for Deaf, by Deaf" victim services available. Deaf survivors living in these areas have three options: seek help from hearing victim services programs; navigate on their own or with the help of family and friends; or remain in abusive situations. According to the experts engaged for this project, most Deaf survivors return to abusive situations or move through trauma without support because of the barriers, inability to communicate, and isolation they experience in hearing programs. """"' 1 of States "for Deaf, by Deaf' Services Even in the 16 states that have "for Deaf, by Deaf" victim services, gaps exist in services for Deaf survivors. Many of the 21 programs are small startups that have yet to build the internal capacity necessary to apply for or manage public funding, including grant writing experience. With minimal financial support, most of these programs rely on a small number of paid staff - an average of 2 to 5 people - to operate. Recognizing the severe shortage of support for Deaf survivors and knowing that their program is likely the only one of its kind in the area, these programs serve their entire state, if not surrounding states, as well. The geographic distance across most states, coupled with these programs limited financial resources and paid staffing, stretch even the most well -funded program's capacity to serve such expansive service area. 27