This fact sheet provides information about the Office for Victims of Crime, which is part of the Office of Justice Programs in the US Department of Justice.
In this publication, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) provides an overview of its activities and the kinds of work it supports. The OVC awards millions of dollars annually in victim compensation and assistance in every U.S. state and some territories, as well as for training, technical assistance, and other capacity-building programs to enhance service providers’ ability to support victims of crime in communities across the Nation. The OVC connects victim service providers and crime victims with resources, develops research-informed training and publications, and supports innovative programs, promising practices, and resource centers. Created in 1983 to implement recommendations from the President’s Task Force on Victims of Crime, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) was authorized in 1988 through an amendment to the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to administer the Crime Victims Fund (CVF). The CVF is composed primarily of fines, penalties, special assessments, and bond forfeitures from federal convictions, not tax dollars. The CVF supports thousands of programs annually with millions of dollars invested in services provided directly to crime victims who have suffered physical, emotional, and financial harm from victimization. OVC is committed to enhancing the nation’s capacity to assist crime victims and to providing leadership in changing attitudes, policies, and practices to promote justice and healing for all victims of crime. The publication provides details about formula funding and discretionary funding from the OVC.