House Speaker Robert DeLeo has reached out to a victim's advocacy group to discuss state funding for witness protection efforts.

Boston lawmakers are pushing for passage next week of a budget amendment, sponsored by Rep. Evandro Carvalho, increasing a witness protection program budget line item from $188,490 to $250,000. Mary Franklin, founder of Women Survivors of Homicide Movement, told the News Service a meeting is planned for Wednesday at 2 p.m.

"We look forward to working on this matter harmoniously," Franklin wrote in an email.

The Boston Herald recently published a series of articles highlighting efforts by homicide survivors to push for more witness protection funding with the goal of helping law enforcement crack cold cases.