NCJ Number
223788
Date Published
June 2008
Length
54 pages
Annotation
This report presents a summary of activities and accomplishments for Nebraska’s Crime Victim’s Reparations Program in 2006-2007.
Abstract
The Nebraska Crime Victim’s Reparations (CVR) Act was created by Legislative Bill 910, passed by the Legislature in 1978 and became effective in 1979. The purpose of the CVR Program is to assist innocent victims of crime 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. The program now covers Nebraska residents who are victims of terrorism in foreign countries. The Nebraska Crime Commission is responsible for the administration of the CVR Program. The budget for fiscal year 2006-2007 from all funding sources was $112,000 with $8,418 appropriated for operational expenses. During fiscal year 2006-2007 Nebraska received $39,000 in Federal compensation funds, which is based on 60 percent of the actual amount of State funds disbursed to crime victims during 2005-2006. Highlights of the CVR Program for 2006-2007 include: (1) a total of 99 claims (12 claims pending, 80 new claims received, 2 supplemental claims and resubmitted claims, and 5 appeals); (2) 85 claims considered (18 awarded, 66 denied, 0 withdrawn, and 1 not eligible); (3) $103,495 total funds expended from Federal ($40,658), General ($20,000), and Prison Industry ($45,836) funds; (4) $92,524 total awarded; (5) the majority of claims considered were filed for males age 18 to 29, homicide crimes, and unemployed victims; (6) the majority of claims awarded were for the crimes of homicide, domestic assault, other, robbery, and assault; and (7) the majority of awards were for funeral expenses ($45,003), physician fees ($12,475), hospital expenses ($12,341), loss of wages ($11,144), and loss of support ($10,000).