KRS § 49.370 — KY Code / Title VI / Chapter 49 / Section 49.370
49.370 Award requirements -- Expenses allowed -- Amounts
Status: in_force

49.370 Award requirements -- Expenses allowed -- Amounts.

(1) No award shall be made unless the Crime Victims Compensation Board or board

member, as the case may be, finds that:

(a) Criminally injurious conduct occurred; and

(b) The criminally injurious conduct resulted in personal physical or

psychological injury to, or death of, the victim.

(2) (a) Any award made pursuant to KRS 49.270 to 49.490 shall be in an amount not

exceeding out-of-pocket expenses, including loss of earnings or support

resulting from the injury on which the claim is based and indebtedness

reasonably incurred for medical or other services, including:

1. For the victim and for any child who is the victim's dependent, when the

crime was committed at the primary residence of the victim:

a. Relocation if the victim is moving from one (1) primary residence

to another due to concern for the safety of themselves or other

persons at the residence as a result of a crime within six (6)

months of the crime, not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000).

The board may, in its discretion, allow relocation expenses

incurred after six (6) months; and

b. Temporary housing costs incurred within thirty (30) days of the

crime, when the victim is unable to stay in the primary residence

due to the crime, not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000);

2. Tattoo removal for victims of human trafficking, not to exceed four

thousand dollars ($4,000);

3. Crime scene cleanup within thirty (30) days of the crime when the crime

was committed at the primary residence or business of the victim, not to

exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000);

4. Reimbursement for the replacement of items owned by the victim and

for any child who is the victim's dependent that were seized by law

enforcement as evidence of the commission of the crime, not to exceed

five hundred dollars ($500) per item;

5. Replacement or repair of windows and locks at the primary residence or

business of the victim which were damaged by the commission of the

crime, not to exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500);

6. Rehabilitative or wellness practices recommended by a healthcare

provider, engaged in by the victim and any juveniles dependent upon the

victim due to the crime, not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) per

year per person, for a maximum of two (2) years;

7. Expenses related to court proceedings related to the crime for a victim or

for a victim's caregiver;

8. Mental health counseling, necessary as a result of the injury upon which

the claim is based. Mental health counseling:

a. Shall be paid for a maximum of two (2) years, but only after

proper documentation is submitted to the board stating what

treatment is planned and for what period of time; and

b. Need not be for a consecutive period and may be paused and

resumed at a later time; and

9. Replacement of eyeglasses and other corrective lenses stolen, destroyed,

or damaged during the crime.

(b) The board may promulgate administrative regulations to establish additional

guidelines for awards pursuant to this section.

(3) Any award made for loss of earnings or financial support may be considered for a

claimant who has loss of support or wages due to the crime for which the claim is

filed. Unless reduced pursuant to other provisions of KRS 49.270 to 49.490, the

award shall be equal to net earnings at the time of the criminally injurious conduct;

however, no award under this subsection shall exceed five hundred dollars ($500)

for each week of lost earnings or financial support. The wage earner or source of

support must have been employed or paying support at the time the crime occurred.

Said employment or support shall be verified by the staff of the board after

information is provided by the claimant or victim. Should the claimant or victim fail

to supply the board with the information requested, the portion of the claim for lost

wages or support shall be denied. If there are two (2) or more persons entitled to an

award as a result of the injury or death of a person which is the direct result of

criminally injurious conduct, the award shall be apportioned by the board among

the claimants.

(4) The board is authorized to set a reasonable limit for the payment of funeral and

burial expenses, which shall include funeral costs, a monument, and grave plot. In

no event shall an award for funeral expenses exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(5) Any award made under KRS 49.270 to 49.490 shall not exceed fifty thousand

dollars ($50,000) in total compensation to be received by or paid on behalf of a

claimant from the fund.

(6) An award shall not be made for any type of property loss or damage, except as

otherwise permitted in KRS 49.270 to 49.490.

(7) An award may be made for a claim filed more than ten (10) years after the

criminally injurious conduct, due to a delay in the testing of or DNA profile

matching from a sexual assault forensic examination kit or biological material

collected as evidence related to a sexual offense, in which case the victim may

collect a lump sum in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000) to cover the

victim's out-of-pocket expenses incurred due to the crime which may not be

provable due to the delay.