Office for Victims of Crime Grant Programs: Victim Services for Children FY 2019 Topical Snapshot

• NCJ Number: 300006
• Date Published: 2021
• Agencies: OVC

Annotation

This “FY 2019 Topical Snapshot” summarizes the services provided to child victims of crime by the 6,837 state and victim service organizations that received victim assistance funds from the U.S Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) under the provisions of the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), which authorizes OVC to provide victim assistance, victim compensation grant programs, and discretionary grant programs to address the emotional, advocacy, and financial needs of victims of crime.

Abstract

In FY 2019, 85 percent of VOCA-funded organizations throughout the nation provided services to child victims. VOCA state administering agencies (SAAs) allocated 20 percent ($692,135,409) of their VOCA funds to address the needs of child abuse victims, which is the second highest priority area among SAAs. VOCA-funded organizations served just over 7 million new victims in FY 2019, with approximately 16 percent (1.1 million) being children. Child victimizations included bullying, child abuse or neglect (44 percent), child sexual assault (38 percent), and all other child victimizations (18 percent), including child pornography, kidnapping, and teen dating violence. Data are provided on the types of services provided child victims, including personal advocacy, accompaniment, and victim compensation claims.