NCJ Number
254656
Date Published
2018
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This report presents data for fiscal year (FY) 2017 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 offer financial assistance and reimbursement to individuals who incurred out-of-pocket expenses as a direct result of a crime. Compensation funding may support a wide range of expenses, including counseling, funeral or burial costs, lost income, or medical care. Data presented in this report include all state compensation claims, regardless of their funding source. The percentage of funding provided to the states is set by statute. The annual grant amount is based on 60 percent of each state's compensation payments from 2 years prior. In FY 2017, 53 states and territories received VOCA Victim Compensation grants. Fifty-two grantees received funding and provided data on compensation claims to OVC. Together, these grantees provided $367,525,175 in compensation funding to 250,583 claims. There were 258,848 people included in applications for compensation benefits in FY 2017. Of these, 82 percent were primary victims whose direct victimization was the basis for the application, and 18 percent were secondary victims. Demographic information on those receiving compensation covers age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Data are reported for the total number of applications paid, types of victimization related to crime type, total amount paid by crime type, and total amount paid by expense type. This report notes that the data reported by compensation programs across the country in FY 2017 indicate the needed assistance the program provides crime victims. Extensive tables and figures