NCJ Number
195054
Date Published
2002
Length
54 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes the implementation and first year's results of the Ohio Crime Victims Compensation Fund as amended by Ohio Senate Bill 153.
Abstract
This report is an overview of the usage of the Ohio Victims of Crime Program during fiscal year 2001. In 1999, the Ohio legislature approved changes to the State's Crime Victim Compensation program. These changes became effective concurrent with the start of fiscal year 2001 and were designed to decrease the claims processing time, increase award amounts and payments, expand awareness of and access to the fund among eligible victims and their families, and reduce the administrative costs of the program, awards appeals, and the need for victims to seek assistance from an attorney to access the fund. Expanded victim services offered under the revised program include mental health counseling services for victim's families, crime-scene clean-up reimbursement, and reimbursement for property destroyed during evidence collection. The report shows that during the first year of the program claim processing decreased 56 percent and awards and payments doubled. The report asserts that awareness of the fund has increased because although crime has dropped, applications to the program have increased 13 percent. The appeals rate was decreased from 8 percent to 2 percent. The administrative costs as a percentage of funds paid out and claims received were reduced on a dollar for dollar comparative basis, but not in terms of total program costs. The continued reduction of administrative costs have been identified as a continuing goal for fiscal year 2002. A list of claims paid in fiscal year 2001 is provided. 11 charts, appendix