NCJ Number
208210
Date Published
March 2005
Length
33 pages
Annotation
Created in 1984 under the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), this report highlights the Crime Victims Fund’s contribution to the Federal Government’s efforts to assist victims, document the efforts of United States Attorneys and other Federal criminal justice professionals to hold offenders accountable for their actions, and examine the challenges in administering the Fund and explore future challenges in meeting victims’ needs.
Abstract
The Crime Victims Fund (the Fund), established in 1984 under the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), was one of the first major sources of funding to support national efforts to assist crime victims, serving as a resource to facilitate victim service programs across the Nation. This report, supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime examines the trends of the Fund, assesses the current and projected conditions of the Fund, identifies structural issues with the manner in which the Fund is used, and makes suggestions to address those issues. The report provides historical information on amounts deposited into the Fund, how those deposits have been used, changes that have had an overall impact on the Fund resources, and trends in revenues and expenditures that could result in severe reductions in current funding levels. Recommendations to sustain adequate and needed support for victim services through the Fund are highlighted and include: restructure fund allocation, additional deposits, and supplemental deposits. Since 1984, the Fund has served as a foundation for the Federal Government’s support of crime victim services, primarily through State compensation and assistance programs and as a model that some States followed in developing their own victim funding mechanisms. However, additional sources of revenue for the Fund must be sought in order to provide continued support for the needed programs. Tables