Automated Victim Notification: Cost Considerations

• NCJ Number: 243841
• Author(s): Seri Irazola; Erin Williamson; Sara Debus-Sherrill
• Date Published: September 2013
• Length: 5 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2009-VN-CX-K102
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation; Grants and Funding

Annotation

After presenting an overview of the federally funded Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification (SAVIN) program, along with its current funding sources, this issue brief discusses cost considerations associated with the implementation and operation of AVN and the implications for system sustainability.

Abstract

In 2005, the U.S. Congress established SAVIN with the intent of financially and technically supporting the implementation and ongoing improvement of statewide AVN systems, which are provide crime victims timely and accurate information on court events and status changes in the course of their case processing. Federal funding and oversight of AVN development is intended to ensure AVN development in a timely and standardized manner. At the time of this publication, 47 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico were operating some form of AVN system. As of late 2012, the implementation and operation of these AVN systems were supported primarily through Federal and State funding. The SAVIN evaluation found a wide range of direct and indirect costs for AVN implementation and operation. Costs have included fees for outside vendors to develop, implement, and/or operate the AVN system. The evaluation also identified significant costs for labor, information technology, training, and marketing. The price of an AVN system must also take into account the cost savings associated with the reduction or elimination of manual notification services. In 2011, the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance suspended its SAVIN program indefinitely; however, the impact of this suspension will not be fully realized until 2013 or later. Some States have identified sustainable funding streams through line items in State budgets or other funding sources; however, limited funding has already resulted in some States moving services in-house, and others have suspended their AVN system services. The cost analysis methodology is explained.