NCJ Number
208592
Date Published
January 2005
Length
41 pages
Annotation
This report presents legislation and data related to the mandates and operations of Nebraska's Crime Victim's Reparations Program (CVR) for fiscal years (July 1-June 30) 2002/03 and 2003/04.
Abstract
The purpose of Nebraska's CVR program is to assist innocent crime victims with medical expenses, mental health counseling, loss of wages, funeral bills in cases of homicide, residential crime-scene clean-up, loss of earning power, and other expenses directly related to the criminal act. The program now covers Nebraska residents who are victims of terrorism in foreign countries. Loss of property, pain and suffering, and expenses not directly related to the crime are not covered. Eligible awards are reduced by any collateral sources received or to be received. The Nebraska Crime Commission administers the CVR program. It reviews each claim for accuracy, completeness, and eligibility; requests incident reports from the law enforcement agency involved, verifies the expenses being claimed, submits all claim information to the hearing officer for a determination, prepares and sends a letter to the claimant regarding the hearing officer's decision, and processes the payments for the awarded claims. For fiscal year 2002/03, 187 claims were received and $223,325 was awarded. For fiscal year 2003/04, 186 claims were received, and $268,147 was awarded. The content and status of relevant legislative initiatives are summarized, and data are provided on the claims awarded, claims denied, claims withdrawn, and claims not eligible. A breakdown of awards shows the amount spent for each type of expense incurred by the crime victims receiving awards. Other data on claims address victim's age, type of crime, and employment status. Extensive tables