NCJ Number
254655
Date Published
2020
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This report presents data for fiscal year (FY) 2018 on the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Compensation program, which provides supplemental funding to state compensation programs across the United States and its territories.
Abstract
State compensation programs provide financial compensation to individuals for expenses they incurred as a result of a crime. Compensation funding may be used for a range of expenses, such as medical and dental care, funeral and burial costs, mental health treatment, and loss of income. Data in this report include all state compensation claims, regardless of the funding source. The percentage of VOCA funding provided to states is set by statute. The annual grant amount is based on 60 percent of each state's compensation payments from 2 years prior to the grant year. In FY 2018, 53 states and territories received VOCA Victim Compensation grants. Together, the grantees provided $407,854,151 (an 11-percent increase over FY 2017) in compensation funding to 243,281 claims. In FY 2018, there were 278,973 people who applied for compensation benefits. Of those, 81 percent were primary victims of crime whose victimization was the basis for the application. The other 19 percent were secondary victims of crime who experienced an indirect consequence of the crime, often including relatives. Demographic data on those receiving compensation cover age, gender, and race/ethnicity. The payment statistics reported pertain to application information; claims paid; types of victimizations related to crime type; notable trends, issues, and policy changes; total amount paid by crime type; total amount paid by expense type; and expenses paid by crime type. A brief comment is included on the challenges victims of human trafficking (including sex and labor trafficking) often encounter when receiving services needed to cope with their victimization.