Member News and Information

The mission of the National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards is to provide leadership, professional development, and collaborative opportunities to our members to strengthen their capacity to improve services to crime victims and survivors. We share a vision of working together so that every victim compensation program is fully funded, optimally staffed, and functioning effectively to help victims cope with the costs of crime.

Our Members-Only section is open to managers, staff and Board members of government crime victim compensation programs. Contact us if you need assistance logging in.

Our 2013 Regional Conferences for our members are taking place this Spring. Information on our National Conference for compensation programs will be provided soon.

Our latest Crime Victim Compensation Quarterly can be found by clicking here. A look at our Spring Regionals, an update on VOCA funding, and a couple of recent inquiries and answers are included.

Our current featured issue is "Benefit Maximums." More information can be found by clicking on the "Members-Only" tab to the upper right, once you've logged in.

Update on VOCA Funding: Congress has set a cap of $730 million for FY 2013 grants. A few more issues need to be worked through, including the application of sequestration cuts and management and administrative expenses, before the grant process this year will open. The President's recently released budget for FY 2014 proposes a cap of $800 million, with the increase from last year designated for new purposes, such as Vision 21 initiatives and tribal support. The Congress will consider the proposal over the coming months.

Return to FAQs

Benefits

1. Are there limits on the assistance available?

Costs related directly to the crime can be reimbursed up to the maximum level in each state. The average maximum is $25,000, but a number of states have higher or lower maximums. In addition, there may be sub-limits on some types of benefits, such as mental health counseling or funeral costs.

2. What costs may be paid?

The following expenses may be covered if they are not paid for a collateral source and if they resulted directly from the crime:

1) Medical and hospital care, and dental work to repair injury to teeth.

2) Mental health counseling.

3) Lost earnings due to crime-related injuries.

4) Loss of support for dependents of a deceased victim.

5) Funeral and burial expenses.

Check with the specific state where the crime occurred to determine exactly what costs are covered by the program. Many can pay other types of expenses, though these vary from state to state.

3. What costs are not covered?

The following are some of the expenses that will not be reimbursed by crime victim compensation programs:

1) Property loss, theft and damage are usually not covered (unless damage is to eyeglasses, hearing aids, or other medically necessary devices.) A few states may pay limited amounts for the loss of essential personal property during a violent crime. Many states can pay for cleaning up a crime scene.

2) Expenses paid for by other sources, such as any type of public or private health insurance, automobile insurance, disability insurance, or workers' compensation. These are called collateral sources, and they must be used before compensation programs will consider paying expenses.

4. How do programs make payment?

Compensation programs will make payments directly to providers, like hospitals and doctors, if unpaid bills are presented to them by the victim; if the victim has made payment, programs reimburse the victim. Lost wages, lost support and other costs borne by the victim will be paid to the victim.